Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State has announced a 100 percent increase in bursary allowances to undergraduate students studying various courses in tertiary institutions across the country.

Radda made the announcement Monday afternoon during the flag-off of the disbursement of N689.79 million to 19,318 verified students across 97 institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session.

Speaking at the state Institute of Technology and Management, the governor also announced a 150 per cent bursary increase for Veterinary Medicine students in 300 and 400 levels; 200 per cent for those in 500 and 600 levels, and N500,000 each for 56 indigenes at the Nigerian Law School, totaling N28 million.

He said the review ends 18 years of stagnant bursary rates since 2007 and would help ease the financial burden on students and parents.

He said total bursary payments and student awards by his administration now exceed N3.29 billion, from over N2.6 billion previously disbursed.

On foreign scholarships, Radda said the state is sponsoring 118 students- 41 studying Medicine in Egypt, 10 in Ethiopia, 33 studying Artificial Intelligence and 34 Bioengineering in China- with an upkeep commitment exceeding N1.7 billion, plus tuition, accommodation and health insurance.

Governor Radda also unveiled a new local scholarship scheme for 1,700 students – 50 best performing NECO and WAEC students from each of the 34 LGAs – to study Nursing, Engineering, ICT, Agriculture and Education in state-owned institutions.

Governor Radda urged students to remain focused and uphold good conduct.

He called on the Scholarship Board to sustain transparency, verification and accountability in managing public funds.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Scholarship Board, Dr. Aminu Tsauri, said the Board has returned N86 million unclaimed funds to the state coffers through improved digital verification, adding that 14,925 new applicants have been screened for payment before the end of 2026.

Tsauri also disclosed a N3.27 billion scholarship package for 44 students at Nahda University, Egypt.

The Commissioner for Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, Hon. Sani Daura and his Local Government and Emirates Affairs counterpart, Hon. Bashir Tanimu, said the interventions demonstrate the administration’s commitment to inclusive and competitive education.