The North East Development Commission has launched the NEDC-Education Endowment Fund, Scholarship Scheme and Scholarship portal in Gombe.
Analysing the fund, the Acting Chairperson, Board of Trustee of the NEDC-EEF, Representing North-West, Mrs. Asma’u Mohammed, said 4,953 undergraduates, 102 postgraduates and 42 PhD potential students had the opportunity to obtain full scholarship awards in the fund’s Scholarship scheme.
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Mrs. Mohammed said the Scholarship awards would go to deserving science and arts students, who would be selected equitably from the six states of the North-East.
Launching the Scheme in Gombe, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NEDC, Mr. Mohammed Goni Alkali, said the NEDC was also graduating 198 beneficiaries in Information and Communication Technology, ICT, mainly in Graphics Design and Smart Phone Repairs.
The 198 graduates are part of 204 other beneficiaries in the Batch B ICT Training Programme, which brings the total of the beneficiaries of the NEDC ICT trainees to 579.
They have each been provided with Starter-Packs and cash incentives of 25 thousand naira to start their businesses in their chosen field of entrepreneurship.
Mr Alkali appealed to the Gombe State Government to support the programme and assist the beneficiaries to succeed.
He also announced that two additional ICT Training Centres were ready for commissioning at the Federal Polytechnic Kaltungo and the National Institute of Technology, Kumo to cover each Senatorial Districts in the State.
Mr. Alkali said the additional ICT Centres would increase the training rate of beneficiaries to 600 candidates per session and 2000 candidates per annum.
He also called on the ICT graduates to use the opportunity to apply for the scholarship, because it would cover all aspects of education, ranging from primary schools, health, agriculture, etc.
The Managing Director of the NEDC and his entourage also inspected the ongoing 500 units housing project of the commission, which it started last year across the LGAs in Gombe, to assess the progress made.
Also the NEDC commissioned a 500 KVA Generator it donated to the Federal Medical Centre, Gombe towards meeting the health needs of the people across the North-East Region.
Mr. Alkali said this would in turn promote efficient healthcare services through the provision of uninterrupted power supply, saying the commission has since its inception, continued to assist the Federal Medical Centre, Gombe in several ways towards enhancing its basic operations in the State.
Analysing further on the activities of the NEDC in the North East, Mrs. Mohammed said the objective of the Commission was to chart a robust support course for the recovery of decaying education infrastructure and human resource base in the area.
Mrs. Mohammed said the fund had through skilful planning and programmes developed teachers training, resource mobilisation, scholarship and grants, technical, vocational and educational training.
she also said part of the programmes were special campaign against drug abuse, cultism and the promotion of sports in schools, as well as Basic Education Intervention component, focusing on renovation of classrooms infrastructure, building of new ones, provision of desks and teachers’ furniture, as well as
other instructional materials and training for Nurses, Midwives and Community Health Workers.
“Welfare support for women and girls. I’m pleased to inform you that the Fund has early this year commenced the implementation of its planned programs;already, 1,800 teachers of the Basic Education segment from the 6 states of the NorthEast, have been trained to improve their skills so as to impart knowledge in their respective areas of competence. Another batch of 1,800 including school administrators will soon be selected across the states to benefit from the same training,” said Mrs. Mohammed.
Appreciating the various interventions of the NEDC in Gombe State, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Manassah Daniel Jatau, urged the beneficiaries of the ICT training programme to make use of the skills and equipment given to them, by ensuring that they do not sell it off.
The Deputy Governor, however, appealed for more interventions in Gombe, because of the influx of people into the state and the consequent effect it had on its resources.
“In addition to infrastructural development, there is a compelling need to embark on a massive orientation of the people of the region, including, of course, the Boko Haram. This sensitisation must continue, and it should involve our religious traditional, political and other leaders in the society, using the mass media and other forms of communication available to us,” said Dr. Jatau.
He said this becomes necessary in view of the fact that the insurgents embark on their recruitment drive from the society in the North East.
Overall, the Gombe State Deputy Governor called on every citizen of the North East to join the fight against insurgency in the zone.
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