SCHOLARSHIP

State and sponsored scholarships

A scholarship carries a student through a named course of study for its full duration, paid in instalments into the student's own bank account. Applying is free, the shortlist is published, and the award is a contract with obligations on both sides.

What a scholarship is

A scholarship is a multi-year award covering tuition and a maintenance allowance for a student in an approved course, at a senior secondary, technical or tertiary institution. It is awarded on merit and on need together, it runs for the normal duration of the course, and it is renewed each session on evidence that the holder is still enrolled and still passing.

The awards are administered by the Kano State Scholarship Board with the Ministry, and are funded from the State budget and from sponsors who put money into named awards. Some awards are open to any qualifying indigene of the State; others are tied to a subject, a level, a local government area or a sponsor's own criteria, and the call for applications each session says which is which.

A scholarship is not a bursary. A bursary is a smaller termly grant for a pupil in a public senior secondary, science or technical school, decided mainly on need and nominated by a head teacher. Where a student qualifies for both, the scholarship is taken and the bursary passes to the next candidate on the list.

Who sponsors the awards

Nine sponsors fund awards through the State scheme. Each names its own criteria in the call for applications.

Kano State Government

All levels

The main State award, open to indigenes in senior secondary, technical and tertiary study, with a share reserved for girls and for candidates from educationally disadvantaged local government areas.

Kano State Scholarship Board

Tertiary

Board-administered awards for undergraduate and postgraduate study, including the awards for students in medicine, engineering and education.

TETFund

Tertiary and technical

Intervention awards in State tertiary and technical institutions, tied to a course and an institution rather than to the candidate.

UBEC

Basic education

Awards attached to the special education fund and to teacher professional development, including support for learners with disabilities.

Aliko Dangote Scholarship

Senior secondary and tertiary

A named award for high-performing candidates in the sciences, with a maintenance allowance and a book grant.

Dangote Foundation

All levels

Awards alongside the Foundation's school feeding and classroom programmes, weighted towards candidates in need.

MTN Foundation

STEM

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics awards, tied to the school ICT centres and the digital library programme.

Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation

Tertiary

A long-standing northern education award for undergraduate study, with its own interview stage.

Local Government Council

Local awards

Council-funded awards for indigenes of the local government area, administered through the local government education office and consolidated in the State register.

Eligibility and documents

The general conditions. A sponsor may add to them, and the call for applications says so where it does.

An indigene of Kano State, or a resident of at least ten years where the sponsor allows it.
Admitted to and currently enrolled in an approved institution, on a course of at least one academic year.
For a tertiary award, at least five credits including English Language and Mathematics at WASSCE or SSCE.
For a continuing student, a pass in every course of the preceding session with no outstanding carry-over.
Letter of admission or evidence of current enrolment, stamped by the institution.
Local government identification letter, endorsed by the local government secretariat.
Result slips or transcripts for the qualification relied on.
Bank account details in the student's own name, at one of the accredited banks.
Birth certificate or a sworn declaration of age, and a means of identification.
Two recent passport photographs.

The award cycle

One cycle a session. Applications open in the first term and awards are announced within 60 working days of the close.

The call is published

The Ministry publishes the call under News with the sponsors funding awards that session, the number of awards, the criteria and the closing date. Nothing is awarded outside a published call.

You apply

Sign in at /user/login, complete the form, upload the documents and submit before the closing date. Applying is free. A reference is issued and the application is tracked in your account.

Screening

Applications are screened for eligibility, admissions are verified with the institution and results are verified with the examining body. Candidates who fail screening are told which condition was not met.

Shortlist and interview

A shortlist is published. Some sponsors interview; where they do, the date and venue are sent to the candidate and to the account. Awards are made in order of merit within each sponsor's quota.

Award letter issued

Successful candidates receive an award letter naming the sponsor, the course, the duration, the value and the conditions. The award status becomes Awarded, and the letter is the document the institution wants to see.

Bank verification and disbursement

The account name is matched against the award before any payment is made. Disbursement is by transfer to the student's own account, in instalments across the session, and the status becomes Disbursed as each instalment is paid.

Renewal each session

Upload the session's results and evidence of continued enrolment. The award continues for the normal duration of the course. It closes as Completed when the course ends.

What each award status means

Your account shows one of these five at any time, and so does the register held by the Scholarship Board.

Status	What it means	What happens next
Awarded	The award has been approved and the letter issued, but no money has yet moved.	Bank details are verified and the first instalment is scheduled.
Disbursed	An instalment has been paid into the account named on the award.	The next instalment follows the disbursement calendar for the session.
Suspended	Payment is stopped: the holder has deferred, failed the session, changed course without approval or cannot be verified as enrolled.	The holder is written to with the ground and has 30 days to answer. A resolved suspension resumes at the next instalment.
Completed	The course has ended and every instalment due has been paid.	The file closes. A letter of completion is available in the account.
Revoked	The award is withdrawn: a false declaration, an examination malpractice finding, or a withdrawal from the institution.	Sums paid after the ground arose are recovered, and the holder may not apply again for five years.

What a holder undertakes

An award letter is a contract. The State pays, and the holder studies, reports and stays honest about circumstances. Most revocations arise not from failure in examinations but from a change the holder did not report.

Payment is by transfer only, to an account at one of the accredited banks and in the holder's own name: Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, United Bank for Africa Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and others named in the award letter. No award is ever paid in cash, to a third party, or to an account in a parent's name.

Remain enrolled on the course named in the award letter, and report any change of course, institution or level before it is made.
Pass every course each session, and upload the results within 30 days of their release.
Report a deferment, a suspension by the institution or a withdrawal within 14 days.
Keep the bank account in your own name open and active, and report a change of account before the next instalment.
Give an account of the funds if asked, and take part in the annual verification exercise.
Serve the State for the duration of the award after qualifying, where the award letter carries a bond, or refund the sums paid.

Nobody can sell you a scholarship

Applying is free, screening is free and the award letter is free. No officer, board member, sponsor representative or agent is authorised to collect money for an application, a shortlisting, an interview or a disbursement.

Every payment goes by transfer into an account in the student's own name. An instruction to route an award through a third party's account, or a request for a percentage of an instalment, is fraud. Pay nothing, keep the message, and report it on 0800 MOE KANO or by email to info@moe.kn.gov.ng.

Questions applicants ask

Can I hold a scholarship and a bursary at the same time?

No. Where a candidate qualifies for both, the scholarship is taken and the bursary passes to the next candidate on the list. You may, however, hold a State award and a sponsor's award only where the award letters expressly allow it.

I am not an indigene of Kano but I have lived here all my life. May I apply?

Some sponsors accept long residence, usually of ten years or more, evidenced by a residency letter from the local government secretariat. The call for applications states which awards are open on that basis.

What happens if I fail a session?

The award is suspended, not automatically revoked. You are written to, and you have 30 days to explain. Where the institution allows you to repeat, the award resumes on evidence of the repeat, though the duration is not extended.

When is the money paid?

In instalments across the session, following bank verification. The disbursement calendar for the session is published with the award, and each instalment shows in your account as it is paid.

I have changed my course. Does the award follow me?

Only if the change was approved before it was made. Report the intended change through your account. An unreported change of course is a ground for revocation and for recovery of sums paid after the change.

Do I have to work for the State afterwards?

Only where the award letter carries a bond, which is usual for awards in medicine, engineering and education. The bond, its length and the refund payable in place of service are all stated in the letter before you accept it.

My name is on the shortlist but I have had no letter.

Check the account you applied with, since the letter is issued there first. If it is not there five working days after the shortlist, report it through the feedback form quoting your reference rather than approaching an individual officer.

Apply when the call opens

Calls are published under News each session. Create an account now, so that the documents are ready when the window opens.

Start an application Compare with the bursary