Students Criticise the Great IFE Partial Scholarship Scheme, Students' Union Financial Secretary debunks claims.

Abdulbasit Abdulkareem 

The much-publicized Great IFE Partial Scholarship Scheme 1.0 at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) has left many students disappointed and confused. Initially presented as significant financial relief for struggling students, the scholarship has been criticized as a political maneuver, with students receiving only ₦10,000 each.

On May 14th, the Students Union, through the office of the Financial Secretary, announced the names of 39 selected candidates for the scholarship. These candidates, three from each faculty, were to benefit from an initiative partly funded by Enoch Hub, which covered 60% of the scheme's costs. The announcement was followed by an award ceremony held on May 15th at SUB TV Room where the beneficiaries were moved to Floor O and presented the recipients to the Vice-Chancellor.

The Financial Secretary, Fasina Damilare, Dblaq stated to the Vice Chancellor and awardees that the initiative would in fact pay only 30% of each student's school fees. However, this proclamation has been scrutinized and criticized by the beneficiaries.

However, the fanfare was followed by disappointment when each beneficiary received only N10,000. One recipient, who opted to remain anonymous, lamented that they were initially told the scholarship covered 30% of their total fees. Receiving just N10,000 led them to feel it was more akin to an arbitrary sharing of money rather than a merit-based scholarship.

"The Financial Secretary told us the scholarship is covering 30% of our total school fees, but we only received N10,000. The money received is as if they were sharing money and not a scholarship." the student said.

 One of the recipients, who chose to remain anonymous, also expressed his frustration in a series of messages shared with our correspondent.

"I find it sarcastic and a dangerous political game when you make so much publicity about something and in the end, all students are credited ₦10,000. Just ₦10,000. Is that what you call a scholarship?" the student lamented.

When one of the recipients later confronted the Financial Secretary, who then claimed he had used a flat 70,000 naira fee as the baseline for all students, According to the Financial Secretary, the office used ₦70,000 as the standard school fees for all students, irrespective of their department. Since the scholarship was announced in the second semester, and students had already paid half of their fees, the remaining balance was ₦35,000. The office then claimed to cover 30% of this balance, which amounts to ₦10,500. Yet, the students received only ₦10,000, sparking further outrage.

The student continued, "We are not bashing you for the amount, but why all the media hype and the dishonesty attached all for political gain?"

This sentiment was echoed by other recipients who felt misled by the exaggerated publicity and the lack of transparency. The Financial Secretary's office has been accused of using the scholarship scheme to gain political clout rather than genuinely aiding the students.

"I find it sarcastic and a dangerous political game when you make so much publicity about something and in the end all students are credited 10k. Just 10k. Is that what you call a scholarship?" one recipient told OAU Kilonshele.

Great IFE Students' Union Financial Secretary Debunks claims 

In a conversation with the Financial Secretary, Fasina Damilare Dblaq, he denied allegations that the scholarship scheme was a political ploy, stating it was a genuine initiative aimed at assisting students in need, albeit through partial funding. He claimed the extensive publicity was intended to create awareness about the program and its objectives.

He revealed the scheme was 60% funded by "Enoch Hub," while the remaining 40% was expected from other sponsors and alumni who had made promises of support. However, some of these promised funds were yet to be redeemed, hence the reduced partial funding for this initial phase.

Dblaq noted that a dedicated Gmail account and bank account approved by the Students' Representative Council (SRC) were created specifically for the scholarship scheme to ensure transparency and accountability. He stated that any misuse of funds in this account aside from scholarship disbursements would be penalized, and that SRC would audit the account at the due time.

The Financial Secretary expressed his desire for the scholarship initiative to become a sustainable legacy program. He said while he initiated it, the accounts and processes established ensured it could be continued by future office holders, who could receive and disburse any additional funding secured from sponsors and donors.

Regarding using a N70,000 fee assumption, he explained this was based on the non-science course fee of N76,000 per annum. Since students had paid half (N38,000) for the first semester, the remaining half (N38,000) was used as the basis for calculating the 30% scholarship component.

While explaining the process of selection of the beneficiaries, the Financial Secretary said that after receiving all scholarship applications, they were first filtered by reviewing the students' statements of purpose to identify those with the most pressing financial needs.

From this pool, the top 10 applicants from each faculty were shortlisted. The Financial Secretary's office then sent letters to the Faculty Presidents containing these 10 names per faculty.

The Faculty Presidents were tasked with further shortlisting the top 3 candidates from the 10 names provided who they deemed most deserving of the scholarship support. Some Faculty Presidents conducted personal interviews with the applicants to make this determination. 

He said it was these 3 candidates per faculty, selected by the respective Faculty Presidents from the initial shortlist of 10 per faculty, that made up the final 39 names released as beneficiaries of the Great IFE Partial Scholarship Scheme 1.0.

However, findings by OAU Kilonshele, the campus newspaper, revealed that for non-science courses with the remaining half of N38,000 school fees, 30% amounts to N11,400, not the N10,000 credited to beneficiaries' accounts.