The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has extended it scholarship programme to China, Germany and France to deepen capacity of Nigeria in the oil and gas sector. The Executive Secretary, of the fund Dr. Aliyu Gusau advised the successful candidates to uphold integrity while studying abroad.
Gusau gave the advice at the induction ceremony of the successful candidates for the 2018/19 Overseas Scholarship for Masters Degrees and PHD programme. ” When you leave to whatever destination, weather China, France, or Germany always have in mind that you are not going for only degree and certificate. ” you are expected to to acquire skills and expertise, so that when you return, you will contribute effectively to the growth and development of the country.
” Do not under estimate what you can do but uphold professionalism in whatever you are doing,” he said. Gusau further urged the candidates to ensure they represent the nation in a positive light and keep to rules of the scholarship and that of the host country. ” It beholds you to behave in the best manner as a guest in your host country. ” You must remember that you are also representing Nigeria and not only yourselves, he added..
Commenting on the mode of selection, he said that all the candidates were selected based on their letter of statement and other credentials. He said equity was used adding that all the states were represented and special preference given to oil producing communities.
He noted that under the current programmne, about 124 Msc students and 77 PhD students were selected for the programme that would commence next month. He stated that challenges were not recorded in the selection process, partly because the process was very rigorous and very objective.
He said, “Hitherto, we subjected students to a one-hour test, but we thought that was not a good measure of their capacities. “What we later did, we go through to see after four years of staying in the university, what quality of degree do you have? “If it a first class, you are going to earn more than somebody with a second class upper; is it a second class upper, you would earn more than someone with a second more lower in our marking. “That is how we ended up with people that attended the interview.
“70 per cent of the marks or grades that they got are based on the documents that they have, including if you were given an award by your institution as the best student in any department. Also, if you publish in a very good journal, that would also count. At the end of the day, we got a very good set.” he said (NAN)
