THE Federal Government has opened an application portal for the newly launched N50 million Student Venture Capital Fund, a flagship initiative to transform student-driven ideas into commercially viable, high-impact ventures.

The scheme offers up to N50 million in equity-free grant to students with innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences (STEMM) field.

A statement, yesterday, by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, said successful applicants would be absorbed into a comprehensive support ecosystem.

According to the statement, the programmes include expert mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and industry leaders, as well as full access to tools, platforms and resources required to develop and scale their startups.
BUT the Forum of Parents and Guardians of Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) Scholars has issued a distress call to the government following what it described as three years of systemic neglect of Nigerian students studying abroad under the scholarship programme.

During a press briefing in Abuja, the group narrated harrowing accounts of students stranded across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa due to prolonged non-payment of stipends.

The situation, they say, has now resulted in the death of a scholar in Morocco, with fears that more tragedies may occur.
The incident, it was further observed, has sparked anger and renewed calls for urgent intervention.

During a press briefing in Abuja, the group said the situation has escalated to the point where a scholar has lost his life in Morocco, raising fears of further tragedies.

The group revealed that the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB) has consistently failed to pay scholars their full entitlements for three consecutive years.

In the current year, no stipend payments have been made to any BEA scholar since the beginning of the year, he stated.

Abang Matthew, representing the Parents’ Forum, expressed deep sorrow over the recent loss of their children, emphasising that their death was preventable. He attributed the tragedy to the government’s failure to provide adequate support to the scholars who were sent abroad.