By: Mayen Etim
MAIDUGURI, North-East, Nigeria – Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has approved the sum of N1.3 billion scholarship for 997 nursing and midwifery students who are indigenes of the state.
The governor announced the approval on Wednesday April 17, during the launched of the scholarship programme at the College of Nursing and Midwifery, Maiduguri.
The programme received about 1,080 nominations, 40 from each of the 27 Local Government Areas (LGAs), of the state. However, after an entrance examination, 997 passed and qualified to benefit from the scholarship.
Zulum noted that with the scholarship, the beneficiaries would, on graduation, bridge the workforce demands in the state’s healthcare service delivery due to the increasing population growth.
“The government has allocated a total of ₦1,305,189,000 for scholarships, with a breakdown of ₦124,149,000 earmarked for tuition fees.
“The remaining ₦1,181,040,000 will be disbursed as a monthly stipend of ₦30,000 to each beneficiary throughout their studies,” he said.
Zulum further stated that his administration was constructing two colleges of nursing, one in the northern part of the state and the other in the southern part; assuring that the two colleges would be completed and opened for academic activities this year.
Highlighting the government’s efforts, the state’s Commissioner for Education, Engr Lawan Wakilbe, disclosed that from May 29, 2019 to date, the Zulum administration had approved over N6 billion for scholarship with N2.7 billion of that amount approved from May 29, 2023 to date.
In a related development, Zulum also awarded the sum of N201 million bursary allowance to 2,010 students of the Maiduguri College of Nursing who had not benefited from the scholarship.
He directed that each of the 2,010 nursing and midwifery students be credited with the bursary allowance of N100,000.
Zulum equally commissioned a lecture theatre complex and a 3,000 people-capacity multipurpose hall for the College of Nursing and Midwifery in Maiduguri.
He then announced automatic employment for the 997 beneficiaries and other nursing students who had excelled academically, on completion of their studies.
Also speaking, the Registrar, Nursing Council of Nigeria (NCN), Dr Farouk Abubakar, commended Gov Zulum for his commitment to improving nursing practice in the state, noting that the scholarship awarded by the governor on Wednesday was the first of its kind and so far the largest in the country.
Dr Abubakar who was represented by the Director of Standard and Accreditation, Alhassan Ndagi, applauded the performance of the nursing students from Borno, stating that every year at the national examinations, they score more than 90 per cent.