….Call For Transparency, Fairness In Implementation
By Abasi-Akan Emmanuel
ORUK ANAM
Students of the state origin at Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) have applauded Governor Umo Eno for increasing bursary payment to them in the 2025 budget.
The students were reacting to the 2025 budget presentation by Governor Eno to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly for consideration where he disclosed that his administration has increased bursary from N10,000- N20,000 for undergraduates studying general courses and N10,000 to N30,000 for those studying professional courses.
Comrade Johnson Ekpo, a student of Agricultural Science, Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), told The Pioneer at Obio Akpa Campus, that the bursary increment was a welcomed development that will help students in the advancement of their educational pursuits.
Ekpo who was excited about the bursary increment, said it will assist them to carry out their assignments, photocopy handouts as well as buy few textbooks, thereby reducing financial stress on their parents.
He appreciated Governor Eno for giving priority attention to education and for doing a good work in the state in the past one year in office.
Also reacting to the bursary increment, Comrade Emmanuel Sunday of the Department of Animal Science, Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), thanked the governor for the gesture, which he said will help benefiting students in the realization of their educational pursuit.
Sunday said the bursary when successfully implemented will give them a good sense of belonging.
He emphasised the need for the state government to establish a link for students, especially those who have never benefitted from such gesture to access it with ease.
A student in the Department of Performing Arts, Comrade Deborah Linus, on her part said the gesture would serve as an encouragement for undergraduates, post-graduates and students living with disabilities in the advancement of education.
Linus called for fairness and transparency in the implementation of the bursary increment to enable all Akwa Ibom State students in tertiary institutions to benefit from the scheme.
She noted that the successful implementation of the scheme will enable some students to eat well and also study well without much financial stress.
Also commenting on the state government’s bursary increment, a student living with disability, Comrade Johnson Ekpo, from the Department of English, said he was excited that the gesture will impact on his life when successfully implemented.
Ekpo called for stress-free implementation of the scheme to enable students of the state origin to access the fund.
He specifically appreciated Governor Eno for ensuring that the impacts of his ARISE Agenda programmes are felt in the state, especially in the educational, health and other sectors of the state economy.
He prayed God to guide and direct his footsteps for him to attain greatness in the development of the state.
The vice dean of students affairs, Dr Stephen Umoh, while reacting to the bursary increment described it as a welcomed development for the academic advancement of students in the state.
Umoh explained that the high cost of living in the country today called for upward adjustment in the payment of bursary to students in the state.
The university don noted with regret that the fuel subsidy removal has impacted negatively in all aspects of the nation’s economy, thereby exposing many Nigerians to economic hardship.
Umoh commended Governor Eno for listening to the cry of his people in announcing bursary increment for the benefit of students in the state.
He described the bursary increment as a financial supplement in reducing students’ financial stress in school.
Said he: “There was a time in this country where a plate of food was sold at below N500, which is not so today as a plate of food has increased to N1,500 “.
He posited that government’s good gesture was in line with the reality on ground and commended the governor for his good work so far initiated to touch the lives of many people in the state.
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