The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso has promised to provide scholarship opportunities to Nigerian students at various levels of education if elected President in 2023.
Kwankwaso said this via his verified Twitter account on Wednesday while recounting free educational offers he had given when he was governor of Kano state.
The former Defence Minister said such academic opportunities will put an end to the educational backwardness the country is experiencing as he condemned the prolonged strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Kwankwaso, who recently commissioned his party’s campaign offices in Kebbi state, tweeted “One of my most telling legacies as governor of Kano is in the vast improvement in the human capital of our people.
“I have fond memories of thousands of our citizens benefiting from scholarship opportunities to advance themselves in major and specialized courses.”
Some of the feats he enumerated are, “That includes engineering, medicine, aviation and the likes. Some of these include: (I) sent over 2,600 students to 14 countries including UK, UAE, Ukraine, Turkey, Cyprus, India China, Malaysia, among others across the world.
“Sponsored 450 students to further their studies locally at Igbinedion, Bells and Crescent and Al-Qalam Universities. (I) Sponsored Post Graduate Training of 21 Candidates in Public Health at Texas A & M University, USA.
“Sponsored 8 students for dispatcher pilot course at College of Aviation, Zaria. Overhauled primary schools, through the construction of about 2,000 classrooms and 1,000 offices. Re-introduced free feeding for all primary school pupils 5 times a week.
“Provided 2 free sets of uniform for all primary school pupils. Constructed 400 Kwankwasiyya teachers’ lodge in rural primary and secondary schools. Established 4 new high standard Secondary and Technical Colleges.”
“This is what we intend to scale at the national level which will definitely end the present educational backwardness. We should bring our students back to their classrooms, thereby preventing incidents like the recent blockage of airport access roads by these students,” Kwankwaso added.
