Ganduje offsets N18b scholarship for Kano students overseas

Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in his effort to ensure that the state indigenes studying abroad were not sent back home over non-payment of school fees has paid N18 billion in scholarships for a number of students studying abroad.

Disclosing this on Monday, Comrade Muhammad Garba, the state Commissioner for Information and culture in an interactive conference said that most of the affected students were based in France, Cyprus, and Egypt.

According to him, “previous government sent students abroad on courses that are available, and cheaper here but the state government could do anything contrary than to offset the payment”.

He however disclosed that the state government has no quarrel with those on specialised courses that are not available here adding that it is out of place to sponsor a set of students to read History abroad.

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Malam Garba said that; “From whatever prism you choose to evaluate the Nigerian University, its standard is higher and acknowledged globally”.

“We have no quarrel if you sponsored students to read aeronautical engineering, and other related specialised science courses abroad, but certainly not acceptable if you take them to read Computer science or History when such courses are available here.”

He further disclosed that he was at the head of the visit to Cyprus recently where they successfully negotiated a € 5m scholarship bill to €1.5m.

“We went to Cyprus, profile their file, negotiate the fee, from €5m to €1.5m. We agreed on instalments payment, and so far we have paid €600m,“ he said.