Bayelsa students to Dickson: Expedite action over our bursary payment

NEDU MARK, Yenagoa

The National Union of Bayelsa State Students (NUBSS) has appealed to Governor Seriake Dickson to intervene in the matter of the protracted delay in the payment of bursary to its students in tertiary institutions.

The aggrieved students in a statement by its President, Comrade Richard Lawyer and Secretary, Sese ThankGod, noted that ‘thousands of students in other universities and institutions of higher learning, who went through the very tedious and cumbersome registration process are yet to get a dime from the state government despite government announcement that it has released N300m.’

The students therefore, called on Governor Dickson to expedite action on the payment of the bursary which the governor had reportedly ‘announced to the world that he has awarded to them.’

The students expressed displeasure over the slow pace of payment which commenced since March, 2014, when the state governor, announced the release of an initial N200 million and the recent release of another N200 million.

“Following series of NUBSS executive and senate meetings held concerning the welfare of Bayelsa students, out of the 300, 000 total students registered, only 5,000 students of the state-owned Niger Delta University have been paid, which represents 16 percent of the registered students while students in other institutions of learning and some students of NDU are kept in the dark.

“NUBSS insists that the continued delay in the payment might force the aggrieved students to go into the streets to protest the on delay,” the statement read.

The body while, however, commending  Governor Dickson for his achievements in the education sector in the state, urged him to look into the slow pace of the bursary payment, just as it also enjoined students to remain calm as ‘the body is working round the clock to ensure that all bona fide students receive their bursary allowances.’

All attempts to get reactions from the Ministry of Education failed as the Commissioner for Education was not available when our correspondent got to his office. In addition, attempts to obtain a comment from the Commissioner for Information proved abortive as he referred this reporter to the Education commissioner.