As a way of reducing the human capital deficit which is hampering the seamless development of the state, Governor Abdullah Umar Ganduje administration in Kano state, says it has committed over N1.8 billion in providing sponsorship for indigenous students studying in foreign and local universities.
The investment which was done by the administration in the past eight months, covers payment of tuition fees, as well as up-keep allowance for the students, in addition to other forms of logistic support.
Mohammed Garba, Kano State Commissioner for Information, Youths, and Culture, who made this disclosure, while briefing journalists in Kano, said that the investment was in keeping faith with the policy initiated by the immediate past administration in the state.
According to him, the investment was geared at ensuring that the students complete their programmes of study on record time, which will go a long way in enabling the benefitting students to contribute to the development of the state.
In order to make the investment more benefiting to the state, the commissioner revealed that the current administration has fine-tuned the programme with the signing bond with the benefitting students.
“When we came into office as a government we discovered that the sponsorship programme which ordinarily should has been situated in the State Scholarship Board was scattered in different ministries.
“We also discovered that there was no formal agreement signed with the benefitting students, on the need for them to come back after completing their programmes of study to serve the state.
“So, what we need was to capture the data of the beneficiaries across the world, and centralized the programme under the State Scholarship Board, and sign a bond with the students which commits them to coming back to serve the state after might have complete their studies” Garba explained.
In the same vein, the commissioner stated that the state government is also fine tuning the programme by ensuring that the human capital development is carry out in local universities, rather than the present trend whereby most of the programmes are being done in foreign universities.
“We are looking at the possibility in which we focus on sponsorship of students in local universities instead of aboard which is more expensive. As part of the review of the programme we have also resolved to assist other students, who are from the state that are not enjoying any form of support.
“In order to help this class of students we have kick start the payment of bursary to all our students studying locally, over N500 million has been expended in this regard.
Garba also disclosed that the state government has in addition expended several millions of Naira in ensuring the accreditation of courses in all the two state universities, as well as other tertiary institutions of learning in the state.
