The two beneficiaries are Victor Mike Dio Jen, the son of the Taraba State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Dr. Mike Dio Jen, and Zakariah Kwenjerimam Kurutsi, the daughter of the Director of Students at the Taraba State Scholarship Board.
Two children of senior officials in the Taraba State Government have been listed among the 100 beneficiaries selected for the state government’s postgraduate scholarship programme to India, raising questions among beneficiaries and concerned citizens about the transparency and fairness of the selection process.
The two beneficiaries are Victor Mike Dio Jen, the son of the Taraba State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Dr. Mike Dio Jen, and Zakariah Kwenjerimam Kurutsi, the daughter of the Director of Students at the Taraba State Scholarship Board.
The development comes amid complaints by some of the selected students over inadequate welfare arrangements during their prolonged stay in Abuja for visa processing, including overcrowded accommodation, inadequate feeding allowances, the absence of laptops promised to beneficiaries and reported plans to deduct $20 monthly from the $100 stipend expected to be paid to each student in India.
Some beneficiaries have also stated that students who raise concerns about the scholarship programme are being threatened with visa rejection.
