Ogun State Begins Payment of N10,000 Cash Award to Primary, Secondary School Pupils

Ogun State Government has commenced the disbursement of N10,000 cash awards to 100,000 primary and secondary school learners across over 2,000 public schools in the state.

The initiative, which was officially started by Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun, fulfilled his promise to support indigent pupils and students in the state’s primary and secondary schools. The disbursement of the cash awards elicited excitement and commendations from beneficiaries and stakeholders alike.

Speaking during the monitoring of the disbursement exercise in some schools in Abeokuta, the Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Professor Abayomi Arigbabu, underscored the significance of the payment as a means to alleviate the economic burdens faced by families.

“In view of the economic realities in the country, the governor decided to provide succour to the people of the state using multiplicity approaches to achieve this.

“He believes that another strategy that could be used which has never been used by any government before is the health and education sectors to reach the populace. Through the education sector, you can truly reach out to those who need the palliative.

“We have over 2, 000 primary and secondary schools in all the four divisions of the state, and 100,000 learners in these schools would receive N10,00 each.”

“As we meet and give the parents the governor’s message, they are receiving the alert for payment. The governor’s gesture is to support the parents in meeting their children’s needs,” he said.

Regarding the selection process for beneficiaries, the commissioner assured that it was objective and transparent. He highlighted that teachers, being closely acquainted with the students, played a pivotal role in identifying indigent pupils based on observable factors such as lack of adequate school materials and basic necessities.

“That is why we have not involved anybody who is not in the school system. The school system is not political. Civil servants are not supposed to be politicians, so the principals and the teachers have selected these children based on the fact that they have always seen them to be indigent students.

“How do they know them? These are children without shoes, some of them have torn uniforms, some don’t have enough exercise books, and some can’t even buy textbooks. There are a number of things they would have seen, some of them, it is these teachers that will be contributing money to the support system.

“I can assure you that the children we have chosen are children that are indigent. To confirm that for you, a parent came to me, she said that her child in this school was chosen, but she has another child in another school that was not chosen. That is telling you that indigency is relative,” he said.

He also disclosed that 50,000 students of Ogun State origin in both public and private tertiary institutions have been captured to receive N50,000 each. The disbursement, which has already commenced, aims to provide financial support directly to the students to alleviate their financial burdens.

“In the tertiary level, we are giving out N50,000 to each student. We have captured 50,000 students from all the tertiary institutions whose details have been submitted to us after we wrote to the Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts.

“We are paying directly to the students to ensure that the money get to them. We started payment last week, and we have paid over 10,000 students, and before the end of this week, we would have paid 20,000, “the commissioner assured.