By Bashir Bello

The Deputy Senate President and Senator representing Kano North Senatorial District, Senator Barau Jibrin, has announced an offer of 300 domestic scholarships to postgraduate students in Kano state.

Speaking during the interview for the beneficiaries for the offers in Kano, Sen. Barau emphasized that the selection process will be based on merit, transparent and free from favouritism.

He said he was investing hugely in the Education sector to complement the government’s efforts to develop the country rapidly.

He said some of the courses the students are to study in various institutions across the country include Artificial Intelligence, Robotics technology, Metal and Material Technology, Database Technology, Information Technology and Geophysics.

According to him, “Well, we are here in pursuit of bringing development to our region, to bring development to our state, and to bring development to our nation because education is a bedrock of every society. And any society’s desire for development must take its educational system seriously. And to build a sound and effective educational system in the country, that is not what a government alone can do.

“It’s what everyone, all households, must participate in getting that done. From the government to religious bodies, to height network individuals, in fact, even the ordinary person, everyone must come on board. And that’s why we are executing this initiative.

“We started by sending our students outside of the shores of this country to study artificial intelligence, AI, and other courses and programs so that they can bring the knowledge acquired to develop our country. I felt that that was not enough. We also have to look at the institutions in this country that have established themselves as comparable to what we have overseas.

An example is Bayero University. It has established itself to attain a level that can be compared to any university in the world. So also universities like the University of Ife, the University of Ibadan, and so on.

“We need to have these other ones to study at home, particularly in those areas that are really needed in our country. Apart from AI and the rest, we also have areas like agriculture, which is the bane of our economy, particularly here in the north.

Others were oil exploration, Climate change, and the rest, that’s the study of the environment, so that all these areas, experts in these areas, will bring what they have learned to be in developing our country.

That’s why we decided to invite you here, so that we can get you interviewed, get the best amongst you, and sponsor you 100 percent so that you can go out there and acquire this knowledge, including within this very important university.

“By the time you are able to get done with your studies, you come in to help in developing our nation. And for you that are going to record the interview, the interviewers, the panel of experts, the panel of professors and lecturers, please, we don’t want any favor to be extended to anybody.

“Everything should be transparent. We should allow those who are in the best position to pursue this program, come on board. Do not show any form of partiality. Do not show any favor. Do not bring anything that will compromise this arrangement. Let it be fair to all. If you don’t like the face of someone and he has the capability of pursuing the program, please take it. We want the best amongst us.

“I don’t want to know anybody. I don’t know anybody that’s invited. Even those that went to study outside, I don’t know any of them. I never asked any of them to be included. You did the interview, you got them out, you made sure that the best were brought out and given the chance to pursue their educational career overseas. So please, do the same thing here,” Barau stated.

Recall that some months back, the Deputy Senate President had sponsored indigenes from the state to study special courses abroad.

Vanguard News