Parents Of Oversea Students Seek Help As Niger Set To Send 1,000 More

As many students in foreign countries from Niger State are battling to cope with their school expenses and parents are seeking help , the state has begun an aptitude test for the selection of 1000 students to be sponsored for another oversea scholarship.

LEADERSHIP findings revealed that some of the state students, both initially sponsored by the state and privately sponsored by their parents, are in mostly China, Malaysia, and Morocco, battling to cope with their school expenses.

A parent who prefers anonymity told LEADERSHIP that “my daughter has been in China, in final year reading medicine we are finding it difficult to cope. I have written for government help but I am yet to receive a favourable reply.

“We are many like that; some have abandoned schools and are doing menial jobs to survive; I think if others are to be sent for overseas scholarships, those now suffering due to the economy should be assisted.

I am not blaming the farmer Governor but he should help us,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr Hadiza Asabe Mohammed, has expressed satisfaction with the aptitude test conducted to select the qualified students to be sponsored for overseas scholarships.

This follows Governor Mohammad Umar Bago’s recent pronouncement of the plan to send 1,000 state residents overseas for Scholarships.

The governor has said the scholarships were for students from the public schools in 25 local government areas of the state who have requisite qualifications and have passed the aptitude test.

The commissioner while monitoring the aptitude test in Chanchaga, Bosso and Paikoro centres, expressed satisfaction with the orderly conduct of participants.

She said the overseas scholarships are majorly for undergraduate students, and few slots would be allocated to post-graduate programmes in some selected science, technology and agricultural courses as specified in the forms circulated to all the 25 LGAs.