ASUU gives N5.8m scholarships to 29 indigent OOU students

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has awarded a N200,000n cholarship grants totaling N5.8 million to 29 financially disadvantaged students at the state-owned Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye.
The OOU chapter of ASUU provided scholarships to 27 students, while the national ASUU body awarded grants to two others, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 29. The initiative aims to ease the financial burden of university education on the students.
During the presentation of the grants at the ASUU-OOU Secretariat following the Branch Congress yesterday, ASUU-OOU Chairman Dr. Olukayode Oyenuga, represented by Vice Chairman Dr. Eniola Olooto, explained that the recipients were selected based on their financial needs and strong academic performance. Oyenuga encouraged the students to use the funds wisely and to consider saving part of the grant for future semesters when additional financial support may be necessary.
“ASUU National sponsored two students, while ASUU-OOU branch sponsored 27 students, making a total of 29 beneficiaries.
“We hope to sponsor more scholarships, but our capacity depends on available funds. This year, ASUU increased the scholarship amount by ₦100,000 due to economic factors.
“ASUU members are like local parents to students. Within our financial limits, we’ll continue assisting indigent students,” he said.
Two of the beneficiaries, Zulaikha Idris Omayoza, a final-year Pharmacy student and Oppoola Kingdom, a 500-level crop production student, thanked the ASUU for the financial palliative, saying it would go a long way to address their needs.
“The scholarship has changed my perception of ASUU. I learned about the opportunity through a lecturer and I am grateful I took advantage of it. This grant has inspired me to practice generosity when I’m able,” Oppoola Kingdom said
Speaking to reporters through Olooto, the ASUU – OOU chair appealed to the federal government to sustain the existence of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) and not to sacrifice it for the National Education Loans Fund (NELfund) scheme of the present administration.
He said the TETfund is the reason people could still see a modicum of infrastructural development going on across public universities in the country, warning that there would be a return to the era of decadence in infrastructure in public universities if the TETfund is scrapped.
He said: “Tetfund is a product of ASUU’s struggles. About 90% of university structures are Tetfund sponsored. If we renamed our university ‘Tetfund University,’ we wouldn’t be wrong.
“These funds have enabled us to develop our universities. Without Tetfund, we are going back to the pre-Tetfund era, characterized by archaic structures.
“It is Tetfund that is not making the absence of government to be felt in universities.”