5,097 persons to benefit from NEDC scholarships in the North East

Ufuoma Linus

No fewer than 5,097 persons will benefit from the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) Education Endowment Fund (EEF) in the six states of the sub-region.

This was disclosed by the Acting Chairperson, Board of Trustees (BoT) NEDC-EEF, Mrs  Asmau Mohammed,  during the official launch of the NEDC– EEF scholarships scheme  on Wednesday  in Gombe.

Mohammed said eligible students from the six states had equal chances of benefitting from the scheme, whether their courses were science or arts oriented.

Besides the scholarship scheme, the Fund also assisted in the training of teachers, resource mobilisation and provision of grants, among others, she said.

She added there was also a special project which would focus on campaign against drugs abuse and cultism, as well as promote sports at the grassroots.

The chairperson said that in the area of Basic Education Intervention component,  which focuses on renovation of infrastructure, building of new ones, as well as  provision of furniture and instructional materials.

About 115 schools had been selected and contracts have been awarded for the construction of one block of 3 classroom each, with the supply of school desks and learning materials,” she disclosed.

Mohammed said further that  the Fund had earlier trained 1,800 teachers from the six states of the region to improve their skills.

She said the Fund also touched on training of nurses, midwives and community health workers, in addition to aspects of support for women and girls

In his remarks, Malam Mohammed Goni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NEDC, said the commission was graduating 198 trainees at the occasion, bringing the total number of youth so far trained on ICT, to 579.

He stated that the commission had made provision for their starter packs and cash incentives of N25,000 each, to help them starting their businesses.

He further stated that the commission would establish two additional ICT Training Centres in the state, which would be located at Kaltungo and Kumo, in an effort to triple the number of youths being trained.

his speech, Gov Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, commended NEDC for living up to its mandate in the state.

Represented by his Deputy, Mannasah Jatau, the governor further pledged the state government’s support for NEDC to enable it  complement state government’s effort in development the state.