Products of Ebonyi Scholarship Scheme making state proud–Commissioner
By Peter Okutu
The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Prof. Amari Omaka Chukwu yesterday stated that those making the State proud, in terms of intellectual property and capacity were products of the State-owned Scholarship Scheme.
In a chat with Journalists in Abakaliki, on how far the present administration has aided the empowerment of Ebonyi people intellectually, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education added that those on scholarship to Tertiary institutions abroad and locally to study, would definitely return to add capacity to the workforce in the State.
He lauded the initiative of the present administration in the area of Education.
According to him: “The issue of scholarship is one of the things I have made for our state to move forward. I recall when the first executive Governor of this state came on board, his Excellency Dr. Samuel Egwu, one of the cardinal policies we brought up was the issue of sending Ebonyi people to go and interface with their colleagues across the world, to have state-of-the-art postgraduate education beyond the shores of this country.
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“That was a policy that came after two past military administrations. I thought hard on it and it didn’t see the light of the day. So when his Excellency came on board, he gave life to it.
“From the records available, about 30-something persons were sent to the United Kingdom, particularly Northern England, Newcastle, etc. You see the University of Newcastle and the University of Nottingham, most of them were there, some also in other parts of the United Kingdom.
“And it worked effectively well because most of the people that made Ebonyi people proud in terms of higher education, some of them have become Professors and they are products of such scholarships.
“Other past administrations also tried their best, but Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru is a man that is so passionate about education than most other past governments that have been in this state.
“The administration started with 300 graduate scholarships to the United Kingdom and 700 Local scholarships in Higher institutions across the country, particularly, institutions in the southeast, that is the catchment area. So 700 persons have been sent there for the scholarship.
“Out of the 300, about 254 have already gone to the UK. There are ones who are still looking for the Universities that offer the courses they do but approvals have been made and funds released for them to fly anytime to those institutions.
“That is the current situation. As we speak, those in Nigeria have advanced in their Masters and PhD programs. Those in the United Kingdom have also gone very far in their program.
“And this program is supposed to be an annual event. It means every year we will send people to the UK and also to Nigerian universities. So it’s a good program. We just did a leapfrog from about 30 persons to about 300 and then about 700 locally. The ones Dr. Sam Egwu did yielded dividends and so that of Nwifuru would yield greater dividends.
“Actually, not everybody returned but those that did return are making us proud. Go to them. Most of them are Professors in EBSU, FUNAI and King David University and other universities.
“If they didn’t go, they wouldn’t have been the pride of Ebonyi the way they are. And those that didn’t return, they also didn’t disgrace Ebonyi. I recall a few occasions I went to the UK, particularly for this scholarship, they were the people that assisted us. They have become great people in the UK and none of them is a street boy or street boys. They are doing very, very well, even those that didn’t return.
“And those people that we are sending now, there is a bond that compels them to return to Ebony State and help us to build the state together. That’s the main reason we are sending them. So they are going to come back.
“And employment has been promised them. That is why the University of Aeronautical Engineering has not started employment. The University of ICT hasn’t started employment too.
“EBSU’s employment exercise has been put on hold. The reason is that when these ones will come, they will become manpower for our state. But I want to let you know that no matter how I pretend, not all of them will come back.
“Those that will not return will be well equipped to adapt into any institution or industry in the UK. But most of them will abide by the bond they have signed. So if they return, none of them will be strolling the streets.
“They have jobs already waiting for them, even in the secondary school; some of them will be employed in the secondary schools. That is why I also believe the employment in secondary school, I believe that’s why it’s tarred.
“I’m not speaking for my colleagues in the secondary school sector. But they are going to come back home to help us build the state. Those that will not come back will also be useful to us in the UK.”
