By Philip Nwosu
Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has offered scholarships to 30 Zamfara gifted students at the Federal Government Academy Suleja.
The governor spoke at the Government House when he hosted the students and leadership of the Muhammad Kabir Danbaba Centre for Women and Youth Development.
A statement on Thursday by the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, noted that the Muhammad Kabir Danbaba Centre for Women and Youth Development played a vital role leading to Zamfara State’s emergence as the top-performing Northern State in the National Examination Council (NECO) entrance exams for gifted students.
The statement added that a number of the students with the highest entrance examination performance were from public schools.
In his remarks, Lawal congratulated the students and their parents for making Zamfara State proud.
The governor said, “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 government areas. 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 the quality of the public schools.
“I would like to announce that I am offering a full scholarship for all 30 gifted students. No parents will have to pay anything as the scholarship will cover all expenses.
“This is just the beginning, as we plan to continue offering this support to all our students.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the Muhammad Kabir Danbaba Centre for Women and Youth Development, Alhaji Sarkin Pawa Malami, explained the centre’s activities and suggested ways for the government to enhance its operations.