*Give scholarships to 1,100 post-graduate students
The Kano State Government has spent N1.5 billion on payment of National Examination Council (NECO) registration fees of 57,000 students of various secondary schools in the state.
This is contained in a statement by Alhaji Ibrahim Shuaibu, the Press Secretary to the state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Aminu Gwarzo, in Kano.
He said Governor Abba Yusuf made the disclosure while opening the commencement of the examinations at Rumfa College in the metropolis.
Represented by Gwarzo, Yusuf noted that payment of the fees was part of his government’s policy to reposition the educational sector for optimal performance.
He charged the benefiting students to put in their best for better results in the examination to justify the government’s huge investment in their academic pursuits.
” You need to put in your best and remain committed so that you can come up with good results on the examination, that can make the state and your family happy and proud of you,” he said.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Education, Malam Umar Doguwa, announced that a committee was set up by the state to assess boarding schools earlier shut down with a view to reopening them.
He commended the state government for enhancing its schools’ feeding programme, saying more furniture would soon be provided to the schools.
Meanwhile, the KanoState Government has also concluded plans to sponsor 1,100 post-graduate students to study in local and overseas universities.
The State Commissioner for Higher Education, Dr Yusuf Kofar-Mata, made the disclosure at a news briefing in Kano.
The state government recently announced the opening of a portal where first-class degree holders can apply for postgraduate scholarships to study in both local and foreign universities.
Kofar-Mata said a nine-member committee has been inaugurated by the state government to screen applicants.
“We received 1,200 applications out of which over 800 were screened, including classified and unclassified degree holders.
“One thousand and one hundred students would be sponsored for the first batch. The committee is still inviting and screening the applicants.
“The restoration of this policy by the administration of Gov. Abba Kabir-Yusuf is not only targeting the Kano citizenry to get postgraduate certificates but also to expose the youthful exuberance of our teeming youths internationally to enable them to acquire new skills,” he said.
