Date: 2015-08-29

The Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) Ilorin Central Zone has disbursed the sum of N1 million to 120 students as bursary award scheme as part of its educational support programme.

The beneficiaries of the bursary award cut across students of secondary schools and tertiary institutions.

Speaking at the distribution ceremony which was held at the National Secretariat of IEDPU, Geri-Alimi Area, Ilorin, the National President of the union, Alhaji Abdulhamid Adi said the gesture was part of the educational support programme of the union.

Adi said the union had earmarked the sum of N3 million for educational development in the community out of which N1 million was distributed among the five community schools established by the union as grant in aid to improve the infrastructural facilities in those schools.

He said the remaining N2 million was allocated to four zones of the union including Northern, Central, Western and South- South zones to be distributed as bursary award to indigents students in their areas of jurisdictions.

The IEDPU National President used the occasion to decry the poor condition of some schools in Ilorin Emirate which he said deserved special attention from the government.

He said the poor condition of the said schools were discovered through a committee set up by the union to carry out an on the spot assessment of the condition of schools in Ilorin Emirate.

Adi who identified over-population of students, lack of enough infrastructural facilities, absenteeism of teachers and lack of proper supervision as some of the problems discovered by the committee, said the union would soon forward the report of the committee to the government for necessary and immediate action.

He called on the state government to critically examine its free education policy with a view to addressing some of the lapses in the system.

The IEDPU National President said the union attached great importance to the development of education system because poor education remained the basic cause of insecurity and juvenile delinquency in the society.

The Chairman of Central zone of IEDPU, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Olohundare said more than 150 forms were submitted out of which 120 candidates qualified for the bursary award.

He said the beneficiaries who are indigenes of Asa, Moro, Ilorin East, Ilorin West and Ilorin South Local Governments cut across students of secondary schools and tertiary institutions.

While commending the national body of the union for its passion for educational development through the release of the funds, he called on the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the gesture, assuring that the exercise would be a continuous one.

Some of the beneficiaries who spoke at the event, commended the union for the gesture and called on other well-meaning individuals to always support the union in its educational development project.