Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, United States Embassy, Mr. Aruna Amirthanayagam, said on Friday that 140 Nigerian students have received scholarships worth more than $6 million from different schools in the U.S this year.

Amirthanayagam stated this at the pre-departure orientation for the students organized by the embassy in Abuja.

The envoy said the students were awarded full and partial scholarships.

He said: “Today we celebrate more than 140 young men and women, members of Education USA, who have received offers of admission and scholarships to attend U.S colleges and universities.

“The list of acceptances is quite impressive including more than 560 schools in all; among them are Boston University, Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt University, to name a few.

“To support these Nigerian scholars, this year Education USA members received more than $6million in scholarships from these institutions.”

The envoy said some of the students got multiple offers from different schools which left them with choices to make.

He also said the objectives of the scholarships were mutually beneficial to both countries and the opportunity would help groom the next generation of leaders in Nigeria.

“The U.S offers some of the best educational institutions in the world and I believe that students going to study would benefit tremendously and so will the U.S,” he added.

He said more than 10,600 Nigerian students were currently studying in more than 980 colleges and universities in the U.S, according to the latest Open Doors Report of the Institute of International Education.

He said the figure was a 12 per cent increase from 2016 and also contributed to a five per cent increase for all of Africa.

“Nigeria continues to be the undisputed leader in Africa, sending more international students to the U.S than any other country on the continent, ranking number 14 among countries worldwide,” Amirthanayagam said.

NAN