Kano State spends N600m on Scholarship

Maryam Abeeb,Abuja

Kano State Government has spent over N600 million on its joint tuition-free post graduate scholarship between the State and French Embassy in Nigeria.
This covers four batches of Kano indigenes, mainly lecturers, from the state’s tertiary institutions sponsored under the agreement.
Speaking while presenting travelling documents to the 4th batch of beneficiaries, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje said the programme was initiated to support teaching in the tertiary institutions owned by the state.
Ganduje, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, said the government was spending a lot to ensure that lecturers get the best of training requirked to improve their performance.
Under this programme, a lot of money has been spent based on 60/40 percent agreement where French Government used to take 60 per cent while Kano State Government takes 40 to ensure that our lecturers from tertiary institutions get the best training. So far, with this batch, by the time everything is being paid, over N600 million has been spent on the programme,” he said.
Ganduje said all the candidates had been admitted to the top ranking universities in France, which he believed would certainly benefit the state in a couple of years.
He praised the heads of the various tertiary institutions for their commitment towards promoting equality and fairness in selecting participants for the programme.
“We usually mention how our students emerged best students when they go for this programme. I think we have to give this credit to you. Why I said this, is because of the transparent nature and prudence being used in terms of selecting these students,” said Ganduje.
To the students, Ganduje urged them to put in their best to make not only the state but thecountry proud of their performance while aborad.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor Kano University of Technology, Prof Shehu Musa Alhaji, said students were chosen on merit, saying, “so far the first, the second and third sets of the students that have been sent from Kano had made the state proud”.
Speaking, one of the beneficiaries, Mustapha Sani Musa from Kano University of Technology promised to perform beyond expectations.
“I want to express our appreciation to all people that have contributed in one way or the other in giving us yet another opportunity to acquire further training which will be of great benefit of our dear state.