PTDF to screen 8,800 candidates from 26,000 applicants
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Up to 8,800 candidates from more than 26,000 applicants have been shortlisted for interview by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) for the 2022/2023 overseas scholarship scheme (OSS).
The OSS, an annual programme, awards scholarships to Nigerians for MSc and PhD studies in partner universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, and Malaysia.
OSS Manager Bello Mustapha said the selection process, which began in December 2021, would see the shortlisted candidates interviewed across centres in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kaduna, and Bauchi.
“We are here for the 2022/2023 academic session, we have advertised the scholarship and we have called on people to apply, people have applied, over 26,000 people applied for the scholarship and over 8,000 were selected to come and do the interviews,” he explained.
“We conduct the interviews in the six geopolitical zones of the country but we are doing in five geopolitical zones of the country this year because of the issues of insecurity in the South East.
“So we are using Ibadan, we are using Bauchi, we are using Port Harcourt, we are using here and we are using Kaduna.”
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South East candidates to be interviewed in other zones
Mustapha said candidates in the South East have been advised to choose centres outside the zone to enable them participate in the interview, according to reporting by Vanguard.
“We sent them mails to choose any centre. In all the geopolitical zones we have, you can actually choose any centre that you want. You may be in the South East and you decide to come and do it in Abuja, or you can even go to Bauchi.”
Mustapha declined to say the exact number of candidates that would be finally selected for the scholarship award, explaining that the number would depend on the budget of the PTDF.
At the end of their education abroad, he said, the beneficiaries are expected to return to Nigeria and work in the oil industry and contribute to the growth of the economy.