Borno awards overseas scholarships to overall best graduating students of UNIMAID

BY ABDULLAHI ISAH, MAIDUGURI

The Borno state government has awarded scholarship to the overall graduating student of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) for the 22nd and 23rd convocation of the University, , Fatimah Zakari Abatcha and overall best student from the department of Geology, Ramatu Goni to study at the Manchester and Branford universities in the United Kingdom.

Issuing a cheque of N18.5 million to the students, Governor Kashim Shettima said “this is in fulfillment of my earlier pledge to sponsor you to study for your second degrees abroad”.

The governor said the government is expending a total of N7, 129,200 and N11, 425,000 as the tuition fees of both Fatimah Zakari Abatcha and Ramatu Goni respectively to study in Manchester and Branford Universities, United Kingdom.

Also receiving the first set of 40 Borno state government sponsored female medical students who were studying in National University Sudan, Governor Shettima assured of his government’s determination to accord high priority to education, more especially girl- child education.

He said education is the best leveler, as it can make the son of a pauper to be a celebrated icon in the world and that when you educate a male child, you educate an individual but when you educate a female child, you educate a nation.

Shettima also approved the sum of N230 million for settlement of tuition fees of the 40 students studying medicine in National and Kharton universities in Sudan and called on all the students to be good ambassadors of the state, stressing that any one among them that will be interested in furthering their education, government is determine to ensure that they do that.

He promised to personally sponsor the housing and other expenses of the best student while in UK and also pledged to visit Sudan next week to pay the tuition fee of the students
Speaking earlier, the state commissioner for higher education, Hon. Ahmed Usman Jahan said they were in the Government House to present to the governor the best graduating students and 29 of the 40 students studying medicine in Sudan.

Hon. Jaha said the best overall graduating student Fatimah Zakari is a sickler, but that she defied all odds to graduate with 4.8 GPA in Computer Engineering, while Ramatu Goni came out with 4.7 GPA from the Geology Department.