Gamaliel & Susan Onosode Scholarship Education Fund (GOSEF) 2026: How to Apply
Written by Admin | 31 Jul 2026
For thousands of brilliant Nigerian students, academic excellence isn't the problem; paying for it is. Every year, students with outstanding grades are forced to defer, drop out, or scrape by because their families simply cannot afford the cost of tertiary education.
The Gamaliel & Susan Onosode Scholarship Education Fund (GOSEF) 2026 was created to close exactly that gap. Launched by the Gamaliel & Susan Onosode Foundation (GAMSU), a Lagos based, charitable, unpolitical organisation founded in 2013 in honour of the late Gamaliel Onosode, a respected Nigerian technocrat and champion of education, GOSEF is one of the Foundation's flagship initiatives.
GAMSU's broader mission is "fostering the success of the Nigerian child" through school renovations, teacher support, research resources, and scholarships, and GOSEF sits at the heart of that scholarship arm.
What Exactly Is GOSEF?
GOSEF is a prestigious scholarship for students in Nigerian public tertiary institutions who are excelling academically but struggling financially. Unlike one off cash awards, GOSEF is designed as ongoing, session by session support that follows a student through their entire programme, provided they continue to meet the criteria.
Here's what it actually pays for:
Tuition: paid directly to the beneficiary's institution every academic session.
Approved study needs: also paid directly to the institution each session (covering essentials tied to coursework, not just tuition).
Renewable, not temporary: as long as the student maintains the required standard, the support continues year after year until they graduate.
The "paid directly to the institution" model is worth noting; it means the scholarship is structured for accountability and transparency, going straight to the school rather than as a lump sum to the student.
Who Can Apply
GOSEF isn't open to everyone; it's deliberately targeted at talented students who are genuinely in financial need. To qualify, you must meet all of the following:
Be a Nigerian citizen residing in Nigeria.
Be enrolled in a public (federal or state) tertiary institution; private universities and polytechnics are not eligible.
Be between 16 and 25 years old.
Have a current CGPA of 4.50 out of 5.0 or higher. This is a genuinely competitive bar; GOSEF is explicitly positioned as a scholarship for top-performing students, not a generic grant.
Demonstrate real financial need to continue your studies.
If you're a solid but not stellar student, or you're studying at a private institution, this particular fund isn't for you, but it's worth keeping an eye on GAMSU's other initiatives (like the Ideal School Campaign), which support education more broadly.
How to Apply
The application process is designed to take about 15 minutes once you have your documents ready, and it's done entirely online.
Step 1: Confirm you're eligible. Before you even get to the main form, it will screen you against the eligibility criteria above (citizenship, institution type, age, CGPA, and need). There's no point starting the form if you don't meet all five conditions.
Step 2: Gather your documents. Have these ready before you start, so you're not scrambling during the application:
Your NIN (National Identification Number)
A recommendation letter
A passport photograph
Evidence of financial need
Your latest academic result/transcript
Step 3: Fill out the form. The application is hosted on a Google Form based system, so you'll need to sign in with a Google account to upload your documents. Budget about 15 minutes to complete it in one sitting.
Step 4: Submit before the deadline. Applications close 14 August 2026. Successful awardees will be announced in September 2026.
Why This Scholarship Matters
Nigeria's public tertiary institutions educate the vast majority of the country's students, yet funding gaps, strikes, and rising costs mean that even the most gifted students often can't see their degrees through.
GOSEF represents a targeted, sustained intervention: rather than a one time prize, it's a yearly commitment to a student's entire academic journey, tuition and study needs, session after session, for as long as they keep meeting the bar.
For a student with a CGPA of 4.50+ whose academic future is threatened by financial hardship, GOSEF isn't just a scholarship; it's the difference between finishing a degree and not.
If you know a brilliant student in a Nigerian public university who's struggling to make ends meet, share this with them. The window is short; applications close 14 August 2026, so the earlier they start, the better.