By Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki.
Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State says he targets to produce not less than 5,000 Master's and Doctorate Degree holders (PhDs) before his administration bows out from office in 2031.
The governor stated this during his first-anniversary ceremony on Wednesday at Pa Ngele Oruta Township Abakaliki and maintained that his administration has declared an emergency on education in the state.
Nwifuru who expressed optimism for his second term reelection come 2027, said he has approved the scholarship of 1,000 Ebonyi indigenes to pursue their postgraduate programs within and outside Nigeria.
He said that 300 out of the 1,000 beneficiaries of the scholarship program would soon depart from Nigeria to the countries of their choice for their master's and Doctorate Degree studies.
Other beneficiaries, according to him, would study in Nigeria.
The governor recalled that he has approved automatic employment for indigenes with first-class honours at Ebonyi State University, adding that the non-indigenes who graduated from the same institution would enjoy a similar gesture.
He assured that Ebonyi State under his watch would become the Education Capital of the Country, saying the state has evolved a multi-dimensional approach for further development of the educational industry.
"We sponsored our stakeholders in education to undertake a tour of the University of Salford, the University of Rwanda and other Universities in Germany to understudy their policies and programs for replication in our tertiary institutions, increase the University's monthly subvention, from 200 million monthly to 280 Millon Naira monthly, same Ebonyi State College of Education.
"Besides the declaration of a state of emergency in the education sector when I was sworn in, we have decided to establish model 3 schools in each of the 13 local government areas in the state.
"We intend to deploy beneficiaries of our postgraduate scholarship scheme to teach in our model primary and secondary schools. Their remuneration will be the same as their counterparts in tertiary institutions. We will ensure that all the public schools are properly repositioned to compete and overtake private schools within the next two years.
"We placed a premium on the provision of a conducive environment for our children and wards. As I speak we have concluded modalities to not only renovate but also reconstruct all public schools fitted with modern buildings, furniture, halls, and modern toilet facilities across the three senatorial districts of our dear state," the governor said.
