EDUCATION Kebbi students stranded in India - It’s not true — Commissioner
Kebbi State medical students enrolled at a university in India on government scholarship are said to be stranded because of alleged failure to pay their fees.
The students had in an open letter to Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu titled ‘Call for Attention’ and signed by their leaders, Nura Samaila and Allyassa U. Ibrahim, claimed that because of alleged refusal of the state scholarship board to approve their files, it was difficult for them to settle Expectations are getting higher as the university community awaits what Professor Sulyman Abdulkareem Age will do as new Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Kwara State.
Chairman of the Governing Council, Dr Zubair A. Oyekan, announced the name of the new VC at the end of the council's consideration of the recommendation of the selection board.
The chairman, while briefing journalists, said that the tenure of the outgoing VC, Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali, would come to an end on October 15, 2017, leading the council to advertise the position.
"Interested applicants were given six weeks to submit their applications with a closing date of May 26, 2017. Immediately thereafter, council met and constituted the joint council /Senate selection board as well as the search team for the appointment of VC.
"The search team visited universities in various geographical zones of the country and contacted senior academic staff in these institutions who might not have applied for the position.
“Subsequently, the selection board shortlisted candidates based on the various parameters indicated in the advertisement.
"The selection board later interacted with the shortlisted candidates over a period of three days after which they forwarded their recommendation to council for further consideration," Oyekan said.
The governing council chairman said the council's meeting, in accordance with the university Act and the provisions of the Universities (Miscellaneous their school fees.
The letter said the university authorities in India have confiscated their credentials because of their unsettled dues.
In the letter, they called on the state governor to urgently look into their situation as their passports would expire soon. One of the students said only few of them whose families raised and remitted their fees after waiting for a long time have received their credentials while the majority who could not pay, were stranded.
When contacted on the issue, however, the Commissioner for Higher Education, Alhaji Abdullahi Mai-Gari Dakingari, debunked the claims saying, the students could not talk of being stranded in India when they were already in Nigeria.
He said, “These students you are talking about were in my office this morning. I have already tabled their issue before the governor and I am only waiting for his approval. How can they claim they are in India when they have finished their studies and are already in Kebbi?
“What remains is for government to pay them their upkeep and the money they spent on their flight back to the country,” he stated.