By GARBA MUHAMMAD, Kaduna

The Kaduna State Scholarship and Loans Board has supported 27 law students with N18.5 million for their Law School programme, out of the 90 candidates that applied.

According to a statement issued by the Executive Secretary of the board, Malam Hassan Rilwan, on Tuesday, the selection was done online in a rigorous and transparent manner.

Although 90 candidates applied, 40 of them scaled through the first stage of a rigorous and transparent application review.

Thirty two candidates were eventually shortlisted after the second stage of document review and confirmation of citizenship of Kaduna State, which is either by state of origin or by residency.

Malam Rilwan said that further verification was done at the Nigerian Law School, adding that “only 27 out of the 32 shortlisted candidates were recognised by the school as her legitimate students.

“The tuition fees of the 27 students were immediately paid directly to the Nigerian Law School account and each student will be given a laptop and an upkeep allowance to ensure they have a hitch-free session,” he added.

The statement said that the cheque for the upkeep allowance was presented last Monday to the students in the presence of the Director General of Nigerian Law School, Prof. Isa Hayatu Chiroma, at the school’s headquarters in Abuja.

The Executive Secretary explained that priority is given to quality outcomes targeting the needy in all scholarship awards.

Hassan explained that the Board will the Law School sponsorship and integrate law students into the sponsorship category with its robust foreign and local Postgraduate Scholarship programme.

According to him, this is “to encourage Postgraduate pursuits in needed specialties of Law like Intellectual Law, Cybersecurity Law, Healthcare Law, Conflict Management amongst many other emerging sectors needing deepened legal research and knowledge.”

The Executive Secretary revealed that the board has also approved two students with disability for foreign scholarship under the Disability Based Scholarship category.

“Umar Mu’azu who has been diagnosed with congenital hearing loss would be sponsored to study M. Sc. in Management of Information Systems while Aminu Musa who has been diagnosed with bilateral lower limb abnormalities secondary to Poliomyelitis would be studying B.Sc. in Computer Science with Major in Digital Systems Security,” he added.

In his remarks, Professor Chiroma stated that he was impressed with the meticulousness of the Kaduna State Scholarship and Loans Board in contrast with what other states are doing.

“With this Board, transparency and traceability were evident throughout. Kaduna State is not richer than other states, it’s the commitment of the Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, towards education that is evident. We expect nothing less from a man with his pedigree,” he added.

The Secretary of the Council of Legal Studies, Mrs Elizabeth Max-Uba, stated that “what impressed me the most is the fact that the sponsorship is not available as a roll call, just because you are from Kaduna State.”

She noted that when the authorities of Nigerian Law School send list of indigenes to some state governments, “even those who do not need the assistance crowd the process and small amounts gets to all.”

Max-Uba however said that in the case of Kaduna State, candidates must demonstrate need by first applying and each one must justify his or her qualification by writing an essay.

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