In keeping with tradition, the Kano State Government said yesterday that the recent batch of 300 medical students proceeding on foreign scholarship would cost the state N2.7 billion as universities in Nigeria remain shut from indefinite strike.
At a send-off ceremony organised for the students at the Government House in Kano, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso said his administration was able to embark on the initiative through aggressive internal revenue generation and prudent management of resources.
The governor said the government had spent billions of naira on funding 501 as well as other students on pilot studies abroad as part of the measures to restore Kano’s past glory.
He said to enhance the development of education, his administration had embarked on massive construction of classrooms in many parts of the state. Kwankwaso, however, reiterated his administration’s determination to embark on independent power project at Challawa to facilitate robust economic growth of the state.
He added that over N13 billion was spent on the provision of potable water for members of the public. Speaking at the send-off ceremony, Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, described Kwankwaso as a pace-setter.
In his comment, the state Commissioner for Health, Abubakar Labaran, said 20 general hospitals were renovated and equipped by the government.
He said the state had established Primary Health Care Management Board and two medical schools at Universities of Technology Wudil and North-West. The 300 medical students are proceeding to India, Egypt, Uganda, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia for their training.
