No foreign university owes Kano students – SSA
Dr. Hussaini Akilu Jarma, Senior Special Assistant on Higher Education to Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in this interview, said government has given a boost to the higher education sector of the state. Excerpts:
There were allegations that Kano State students studying abroad are struggling to make ends meet because they haven’t received their allowances. Why is that?
That is absolutely a mistaken belief. Our sponsored students have received all their entitlements and are doing well in their respective campuses and, according to the reports given to us, they are the most well-behaved and welleducated students.
Which of the allowances have you settled?
All students’ allowances and tuition fees have been settled. In fact we travelled to Sudan exactly two weeks ago to confirm whether institutions and the students have received their payments. There was no complaint so far. Between 2016 and 2018, government has paid $2,326,600 (N710, 427,310) as allowances for students studying in Sudan. We have students in four universities in Sudan and we paid them the sum of $653,760 (N199, 625,616) as tuition fees, $137, 570 as maintenance while the upkeep allowance paid into students’ accounts was N48,462,000 for six months.
The universities included Al-Ahfad, Elrazi, National and Omdurman universities. In AlAhfad University we have 57 students and we paid the sum of $368,300 (N112,460,405) as tuition fees but in Elrazi University where there are 32 students we paid $205,700 (N62, 810,496).
In Omdurman University there are 12 students and we paid $85,200 (N26,015,820) while in National University where there is only one student, the sum of $7,000 (N2, 137,450) was paid as tuition. In all, every student had his tuition fee paid and that is a huge sum of money. For maintenance allowance, which covered 2016 and 2017, we paid $75,110 in Al-Ahfad while in Elrazi, the sum of $41,440 was paid. In Omdurman $14,400 was paid and in National $1,850 was paid.
It is unfair for anyone to say that Kano students haven’t got their allowances because this government inherited huge unsettled allowances running into billions of naira and Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje had paid all these debts. We have paid over N5 billion in tuition and other fees and over 1,200 students have graduated from foreign institutions successfully.
You settled the allowances of students in Sudan; it seems like you ignored students in other countries. Why?
Each of our sponsored students have been receiving their allowances promptly. The governor has approved payments for students in Egypt and the sum of N211,345,836 was released for students in Cyprus. There are other students in China, Malaysia, Uganda, India and Niger apart from those in Nigerian private universities including Bells, Igbinedion, Crescent, American University of Nigeria (AUN) and Al-Qalam. There is a bi-lateral arrangement with France on our students there.
There were widespread reports that a senator had visited the students and promised to pay their allowances before you intervened. Does that ring true?
Everyone has the right to visit the students as long as he is not trying to politicise the higher education system. This is because education empowers young people to shape their lives and any attempt to change that impression will obliterate the fundamental nature of schooling and breed multitude of problems.
We were informed of the visit which eventually turned out to be fruitless since it hasn’t made significant impact on the students. The visit was worthless, a plethora of empty promises and we have nothing to do with it. We will continue to respond to the wellbeing and developmental needs of our students irrespective of what detractors say.
Based on the foregoing, your government is spending too much on foreign students without efforts to improve the state-owned higher institutions?
We always appreciate the concerns of people but people should note that these students were sent abroad and left stranded until the present government came and paid all their allowances and is making sure to see that they all graduate successfully. This government is spending more money on education and we believe this will promote economic growth.
The teacher upgrade programme in which 25,000 basic education teachers were sponsored to attain various professional qualifications gulped N1.4 billion. Already, over 2,000 teachers have obtained postgraduate diplomas and about 20,000 now undergoing NCE programmes at various institutions will graduate in April.
Government recently approved the sum of N83,400,000 for the accreditation of academic and professional courses as well as resource assessment for new courses in Aminu Kano College of Islamic and Legal Studies. The money will be used for general renovation which involves renovation of lecture theaters and rooms, micro study lab, ICT centre, language lab, library, staff office, entrepreneurship lab and computer centre. It will also be utilised in the construction of new toilets, educational technology centre, conference rooms, computer based test centers, lecture theatres, drainages and provision of street lighting.
The college will also use the money to procure instructional materials, office and classroom furniture as well as students’ and college buses.
The state polytechnic has also received N100 million for the accreditation of academic and professional courses. Other higher institutions, too, were given enough support for their respective programmes despite the financial problems.
Government is of the view that people need a high-quality education system and is trying its best in providing training opportunities to improve quality and standards of teaching.