Dr Yusuf Sununu, the Minister of State for Education, urged
them to protect the image of the country as they leave.
He stated this on Thursday at a pre-departure briefing
ceremony with the beneficiaries in Abuja.
Additionally, he tasked them to continue to polish the good
qualities they have been exposed to and be willing to learn, relearn, and
unlearn as they begin the first phase of their life journeys.
“It is noteworthy that scholarship is a reward for
excellence and an encouragement to brilliant Nigerians who could not afford to
sponsor their studies in foreign countries.
“As we are all aware, the Federal Government of Nigeria, in
1999, revitalised the scholarship scheme by investing more in national and
international programmes.
“This is in a bid to strengthen the Bilateral Education
Agreement (BEA) with development partners to develop her manpower needs, he
said.
According to the minister, in spite of the global economic
meltdown, the number of development partners has increased, and many of them
now offer scholarships to Nigerians.
He listed the active countries to include Hungary, China,
Algeria, Romania, Morocco, Serbia, Mexico, Egypt, and others non-regulars,
including Macedonia, Poland, South Korea, Greece, Japan, Tunisia and Turkey.
“In order to reciprocate their good gestures, Nigeria also
offered scholarship awards to China and Romania in the past and hope to
reactivate the gesture as these countries and others indicate interest.
“To all the awardees, I say you have all overcome many
challenges to get to where you are today, and everyone of you has achieved
success in your own ways.
“I want to enjoin the parents of the awardees to always
uphold them in prayers and encourage them with sound advice at all times so as
to make you and Nigeria proud by being worthy ambassadors,” he said.
He called on the beneficiaries not to hesitate to return to
the country at the end of their programmes to assist in making Nigeria a better
place by contributing their quotas.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of
Education, David Adejo, said the scholarships was a testimony of the incredible
achievements of the beneficiaries of this year’s BEA Scholarship Awards.
Adejo admonished the awardees to be good ambassadors of
their parents and the country, while advising them to utilise the opportunity
to acquire requisite skills that may be available in their host country for
Nigeria’s development.
He urged them to take their studies seriously and become
catalysts for change upon their return.
“I urge you to expand your horizons, embrace new challenges,
embrace the power of knowledge as a tool for effective change, and make the
most of the resources available to you, as this comes with the opportunity to
shape your future and contribute to the betterment of the world.
“On behalf of the government of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, I hereby express Nigeria’s profound gratitude to the government of
Hungary for their immense contributions towards training Nigerian youths,
thereby assisting Nigeria to achieve her developmental needs,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Director, Federal Scholarship Board, Mrs.
Astra Ndajiwo, said that the scholarship was opened to Nigerian citizens in
2022 with 150 entries.
Ndajiwo said that after rigorous screening, 72 of the 150
applicants who scaled through had received their September to December
allowances for their final departure to Hungary.
She added that subsequent payment of their allowances would
start in January 2024 and would be remitted through the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) to the Embassy of Hungary.
Mr Ayodeji Akerele, who spoke on behalf of the awardees,
promised the Federal Government and their parents to portray the good image of
the country as well as return to contribute their quotas to national
development.
NAN
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