Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said that the Shehu Idris College of Health Sciences and Technology, Makarfi, would soon commence specialized health degree programmes.
The governor made this known at a reception in honour of five professors from the area, organised by the Makarfi Local Government Area Community on Sunday.
El-Rufai, who was represented at the occasion by Alhaji Muhammad Shehu, Commissioner for Education, said the college would offer specialised health degree training in addition to its existing diploma courses; stressing that the diploma courses would be used for direct entry into the degree programmes.
He also said that the state had concluded plans to establish a campus in Kudan of the State College of Education Gidan-Waya, as well as a campus of the state university in Lere, adding that construction of the university’s permanent site had since commenced at Rigacikun, along the Kaduna-Zaria highway.
The governor emphasized the need for the youth to acquire additional entrepreneurship skills to their diploma and degree certificates, noting that lack of such skills was the main reasons why many youth graduates were stranded without any good means of livelihood.
El-Rufai restated the commitment of the state government to strengthen skills acquisition centers across the state, in addition to revitalizing the state’s scholarship scheme to incorporate special grants for skills acquisition training with a view to address youth unemployment in the state.
The governor also said that the state was collaborating with key stakeholders and its international partners, to establish additional skills acquisition centres in the state in its quest to providing free and quality education in the state.
Earlier, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, the Chairman of the occasion, tasked the community to support the younger ones to acquire education, stressing that those with the means should endeavour to support those without the means with scholarships to acquire education.
“This (scholarship) is the programme that is better pursued as a community project, not as an individual project, because it has greater chances of outliving us and impacting positively on the lives of our people”, he said.
In his address of welcome, Alhaji Mahmud Gazara, Chairman Organizing Committee for the occasion, said Makarfi Local Government Community was hosting the reception to celebrate excellence, with a view to encouraging the future generation to pursue education.
He identified the celebrants as: Prof. Ahmed-Muhammad Makarfi, a professor of Agricultural Engineering in Bayero University Kano; Prof. Lawal Saidu, a professor of Avian Medicine in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria,
Prof. Yusha’u Ango, professor of financial entrepreneurship in Kaduna State University.
Others are: Prof Aliyu Mu’azu, a Professor of Hausa Culture in Bayero University Kano, and Prof. Yahaya Makarfi, a professor of Quantity Survey in Ahmadu Bello University.
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