Should Scholarships Be For 1st Class, Science Students Alone?

Why?

It is no news that getting tertiary education in Nigeria is difficult, for all students, science, arts, commercial...

Aside the fact that the quality is low and the pace is staggered, what with the incessant strike actions, the cost factor is a hurdle many find too impossible to cross.

Scholarships are as scarce as water in the desert while school fees are rising like the sun, but unlike the sun, they never set.

Public institutions are costly, strike actions tear up the academic calendars and not many can afford private universities' prohibitive charges.

That was why students went agog in Nigerian institutions earlier this year, violently demanding more affordable fees — the Lagos State University and Obafemi Awolowo University protests are just a few examples.

So unless you study in states like Imo, where the governor is blazing the trail of free education, and in some northern states, where the government sponsors all, the pursuit of a degree, or post-graduate degree is a tortuous journey.

What about scholarships?

Well, you could aspire to get a scholarship, but, sadly, they are few to come by and biased, alienating some category of students.

In Nigeria, scholarships are only meant for Science students or first class students, those outside these circles don't deserve it.

In most cases, it is skewed against those in the arts and humanities and I'll prove this point with three scholarship schemes in Nigeria.

While it is good to reward hard working students and also encourage science education, it is my personal opinion that the scholarship distribution should reach every Nigerian student.

First of all, the process of getting a first class is different in Nigerian Universities. To get a First Class in a University like the University of Benin, Obafemi Awolowo University or Ahmadu Bello University is not the same as getting one in most private Universities.

This point was echoed by the Vice Chancellor of Western Delta University Oghara, Delta State, Prof Peter Hugbo, who said some universities "manipulate the system" to churn out 1st class graduates.

Again, even if the first class degrees will be used as a criteria, is it not unfair that students in the social sciences, arts and commercial fields are sidelined?

When government scholarships are limited by field, we are inadvertently saying some students are automatically second class citizens by virtue of their chosen course of study.

It is my personal opinion that government scholarships should be equally distributed amongst the various fields of study, with all given the chance to apply for such, not just those with 1st class or 2nd class upper certificates.

A more accommodating screening process that will give equal opportunities to students from all Nigerian tertiary institutions should be devised because students from all fields of endeavor contribute to the economy and should be recognised and considered.

Certificate/course of study discrimination should stop!