Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Government has kick-started its Higher Education Students’ Loan Scheme with N350 million as a revolving interest-free loan programme for indigent students. 
Governor Henry Seriake Dickson,  who disclosed this during the official launch of the scheme in Yenagoa, explained that N100 million was added to the initial N250 million already provided by the state government.
Governor Dickson, also at the occasion distributed three million, five hundred and fifty free text books to public primary and secondary schools in the state.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary Mr. Fidelis Soriwei said the governor stressed the need for  sustainability of the scheme, noting that education is key to fighting under-development, oppression and inequality in the society.
The governor who said that all other investments except education are susceptible to deterioration,  called on the beneficiaries to take advantage of the loan facility to build a vibrant informed society.
 Dickson who highlighted his administration’s achievements in the educational sector, said Bayelsa is ranked as one of the best performing states in national examinations.
The governor also pointed out that due to the premium his administration places on education, appropriate investments have been made to educational institutions including monthly subventions to the Federal University,  Otuoke and Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe.
He explained that the state government gives a monthly subvention of N10 million and N5 million to the Federal University, Otuoke and the Federal Polytechnic Ekowe, respectively.
“Our students perform brilliantly in all national examinations and as such our performance average in all exams is getting so well that we are now rated as number one out of five or out of seven.
“One of the things that is so critical is how we decided early in our government to use education as a tool for development, as a tool for social stability,  fighting under- development and inequality and so education is so important that there is nothing we can hold back.
 “As I always say, every other investment including the roads we build, the bridges we construct, even the hospitals we build, every other investment will deteriorate with time.
“It is only investments in the human capacity –  investment in you all that does not deteriorate. Rather, the dividends expand exponentially from generation to generation, so we are on the right track.”
The Governor also used the opportunity of the launch to distribute 3,550,000 books to students of various institutions in the state.
In his  speech, Chairman of the occasion and Pro Chancellor of the Bayelsa Medical University, Prof Nimi Briggs, paid glowing tributes to Governor Dickson-led administration especially in the area of education development.
Prof Briggs who described the loan facility as highly commendable, underscored the need for government and the private sector to provide job opportunities for benefiting students to enable them repay the loan.
“We are a people who have all sorts of things given to us by the almighty God but somehow we have not actualized them. We cannot carry arms to fight, but the only way is through education.
“As you all know, higher education is expensive and higher education does best when there is a basket of funds to it, that is not just only government funding it, other stakeholders are also bringing in theirs; it is in an atmosphere such as that, that education does best.”
In their separate remarks, the Chairman, Bayelsa state Higher Education Loans Board, Prof. Saviour Agoro and Pro-Chancellor of the Niger Delta University, Mr. Mathew Seiyefa described the programme as laudable as it would promote quality education in the state.
They also advocated the need for sustainability of the scheme by the incoming administration to promote manpower development in the state.