Governor Dauda Lawal has offered scholarships to 30 gifted students of Zamfara State origin at the Federal Government Academy, Suleja, Niger State.
Governor Lawal made the pledge on Wednesday while receiving the gifted students and the leadership of Muhammad Kabir Danbaba Centre for Women and Youth Development Center at the Government House, Gusau, the state capital.
A statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, on Thursday, said Muhammad Kabir Danbaba Center played a vital role in Zamfara State’s emergence as the top-performing Northern State in the National Examination Council (NECO) entrance examinations for gifted students.
The statement added that many of the students with the highest entrance exam scores were from public schools.
In his remark, Governor Lawal congratulated the students and their parents for bringing pride to Zamfara State. “Your remarkable performance was a positive indication that our administration’s declaration of emergency was not in vain.
“In the past, Zamfara was consistently at the bottom regarding education in Nigeria. This is why I declared a state of emergency in the educational sector last year.
“We are renovating more than 300 fully equipped schools across all 14 local governments. In addition, we have implemented measures to train the teachers to improve the quality of public school education.
“I want to share my experience of attending public schools. I was the only one in my family who attended LEA schools because I grew up with my grandparents in Katsina. After primary school, I attended Government Secondary School, Kachia, while all my siblings attended Kings College or Federal Government College. So, we are on a mission to revive that quality of the public schools.
“I would like to announce that I am offering a full scholarship for all 30 gifted students. No parent will have to pay anything; the scholarship will cover all expenses. This is just the beginning, as we plan to continue offering this support to all our students.”
Earlier, Alhaji Sarkin Pawa Malami, chairman of the Muhammad Kabir Danbaba Centre for Women and Youth Development, and Arch. A. A Gusau, the centre’s focal person, explained the centre’s activities in detail to the governor and suggested ways for the state government to enhance its operations.
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