Presidential Amnesty Programme : Scholarship Covers School Fees, Not Feeding, Accommodation– Chairman

The national chairman, Phase Two, of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Ibena Rufus Salvation, has said the scholarship component of the programme is primarily focused on tuition, clarifying that feeding, accommodation and other personal expenses are not part of the scholarship.

Salvation made the clarification in reaction to an online report alleging that some PAP beneficiaries at the Federal University Otuoke (FUO), Bayelsa State, were facing hardship over delays in the payment of allowances.

The report had alleged that some students were struggling to meet their daily needs, with claims that prolonged financial difficulties had forced some beneficiaries to consider abandoning their studies.

Responding to the allegations, Salvation said beneficiaries should understand the scope of the scholarship and not assume that it automatically covers all their living expenses.

“In a civilised world, where scholarship is given to someone, that person will only take care of the responsibility of their school fees only. Not even accommodation, regardless of feeding or stipend. It’s not done anywhere,” he said.

He explained that where additional assistance was provided to beneficiaries beyond the core scholarship package, such support should be regarded as assistance rather than an entitlement.

According to him, individuals or officials who choose to provide additional support to beneficiaries should be appreciated for doing so.

“If the office and the administrator, on his own philanthropic character, has somebody who has the will, the political will to help his people, people should not take that for granted,” he said.

Salvation, however, acknowledged that some students could face genuine personal challenges and said beneficiaries in difficult circumstances could seek assistance.

He urged students to express their concerns constructively rather than through confrontation.

His comments followed an online report, which alleged that some PAP-sponsored students at FUO were struggling to afford food and other basic needs because of delays in the payment of allowances.

The online report quoted unnamed sources as alleging that some students had become financially vulnerable, while others were considering leaving school because of the hardship.

One of the sources reportedly claimed that an affected student had decided not to return when academic activities resume in October, following what was described as prolonged financial difficulties.

The report also alleged that some parents and guardians had reduced the financial support they provided to their children on the assumption that PAP would cater for their educational and living expenses.

According to the report, the situation had left some students dependent on friends and other beneficiaries for food and other basic needs.

Efforts to independently reach some of the affected students for their reactions were unsuccessful as of press time.