The House of Representatives Committee on Education has recommended for the Federal Government to stop the 2015/2016 Presidential Special Scholarships for Innovation and Development, saying the scheme was too skewed to favouring one section of the country.
Chaired by Kano State lawmaker, Aminu Sulaiman, the committee made the recommendation to the Chairman of the Implementation Committee, Prof. Julius Okojie, in Abuja on Thursday.
Channelling the committee’s argument during a heated debate on Thursday, Suleiman claimed that northerners were sidelined in the awards, saying it only leads to education imbalance and monumental abuse.
The committee observed that out of the 104 short-listed for the scholarships this year, none came from the North-West and North-East.
It also held that the North-Central received only seven slots, while the Federal Capital Territory also did not get any.
However, in his reply, Okogie said that no considerations other than “merit”, qualified the beneficiaries for the awards.
He explained that the award was meant for First Class graduates, who were under 30 years of age, for further studies in any of the top 100 universities in the world.
“Unless we are saying that the criteria have to change, I will not advise that the programme should be scrapped,” Okogie said.
He later assured Sulaiman’s comittee that he would pass their position to President Goodluck Jonathan.
