30,000 scholars benefit from Commonwealth scholarship in 61 yrs

By Joseph Erunke

THE federal government, Tuesday,said a total of 30,000 scholars in the country have so far benefited from the Commonwealth Scholarship between 1959 and now.

Majority of the beneficiaries, according to the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu,who disclosed this, made significant contributions to Nigeria’s development.

The minister spoke at the opening ceremony of the  2021/2022 nomination Interview for Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowship Plan,CSFP, in Abuja.

Speaking through his representative and Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Arc. Sonny Echono, Adamu noted that the award of scholarship would be strictly guided by the criteria set by the Commission with high priority to relevance to national development. 

While noting that education remains critical to accelerating economic growth, engender social change, create a stable polity and improve on the quality of life of the Nigerian citizenry, he said these could only come to fruition through human capital development. 

He said: “Applications shall be graded based on Academic Merit, Quality of Research Proposal and Development Impact on completion of the study as PhD candidates. However, it is imperative to state that, the CSC’s Selection criteria give high priority to applicants that demonstrate the strongest relevance to national development.

“It is worth mentioning that since the inception of the Commonwealth Scholarship Award in 1959, more than 30,000 scholars have benefited and majority of the award holders from Nigeria have returned to make significant contributions to the development of the nation, mostly in the tertiary institutions.

“To this end, the Commission’s mandatory regulation for scholars is to acquire the requisite knowledge as well as skills, and return to their respective home countries at the end of the award period to make meaningful impact in their various fields of study to achieve multiplier effect. It is in the realization of…