-By Muhammad Danjuma Abubakar
The transformative power of education is known to all. Many Nigerian youths, recognizing and appreciating the fact that every facet of society’s development is dependent upon its educated population, want to get education beyond the secondary School level.
However, economic inability and difficulty in gaining admissions to higher institutions of learning, have limited the potentials of many.
In 2019 alone, JAMB says about 1.8 million sat for its UTME as requirement for admissions into any of Nigeria’s 179 universities(in total) that cannot admit beyond 400,000 applicants.
In Niger State alone, over 40,000 students come out of secondary schools every year and this excludes many others that are at homes struggling to further their studies but have economic challenge or the other.
This reality prompted the introduction of the Maidakuwa Memorial Scholarship Foundation as one of the CSR arms of the Newgate College of Health Technology, Minna.
The Scheme which is in two categories (for the indigent and academic performance respectively) is aimed at improving the lives of youths including interested qualified adults through free tertiary education.
The Scholarship Foundation, which was introduced since the inception of Newgate College in 2014, has so far assisted over 100 in the space of just five years. This ‘corporate gesture’ is rare among private Tertiary institutions who are seen to make just money.
The Executive Director/Founder of the college, strongly believes that the society’s progress and achievement of its comprehensive vision largely depends on education especially the tertiary education, where advance skills and specializations are acquired towards providing evidence-based solutions to emerging societal problems.
Nonetheless, as the leading private institution inclined towards Health, Science and Technology in Niger State, the Scholarship Scheme is in the areas of Health and Science disciplines that the College offers as its area of focus;which is in recognition that science and technology has transformational impact on the quality and pace of every society’s progress and that healthcare system determines the productivity of humankind especially at the grassroots level.
The society needs more of these social investments from well to do individuals, to partner Newgate College in the training of some youths towards achieving a tertiary health education society; because the issue of education is a national enterprise which requires collective efforts.
Muhammad Danjuma Abubakar, is the Head of Public Affairs and Protocols, Newgate College of Health Technology, Minna, Niger State
