From Edwin Olofu, Kano
Kano state governor, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, has reiterated his administration’s commitment towards educational transformation of the state.
A statement signed by the governor’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Halilu Ibrahim Dantiye, said the governor gave the assurance in Istanbul, Turkey, during an interactive session with postgraduate students sponsored by his administration, in the country.
Kwankwaso maintained that the purpose of his visit to different countries to see the students, whom he said, was for him to get firsthand knowledge of their state of affairs.
He specifically wanted to know if the students had any challenges which the government could help them solve.
The governor lamented the apathetic attitude of some leaders and parents in northern Nigeria to the educational advancement of the region. “This is not good for us, and is not even good for the country”, Kwankwaso asserted.
“We are even lucky that the populace have accepted the issue of sending their children to school, that is why when we came in 2011 our children were just over one million in primary schools and we are approaching three million now”, Kwankwaso added.
He said that the government is working not only to see them complete their master’s degree programmes but also monitoring their progress, expressing happiness that their institutions had submitted positive reports on them to the government.
Speaking at the occasion, the Director, International Office, Yasar University Izmir, Mrs. Patricia Turkmenoglu praised Governor Kwankwaso for his visionary leadership, focus, and positive commitment towards educational development in Kano.
In his speech on behalf of the students, Umar Abdulhamid from Faith University, Istanbul, Umar Abdulhamid thanked the governor for initiating the foreign scholarship programme, acknowledging that the procedure followed for the selection of the master’s students was based on merit. He promised that all of them would justify the investment in their education.
At the end of the session, the students presented a merit award to the governor for his foresight, outstanding precepts and exemplary leadership.
