Bauchi Governor’s Wife Awards Scholarship to 115 IDPs

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

As part of her social responsibility, the wife of the Bauchi State Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Mohammed Abubakar has awarded scholarships to 115 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable children to acquire formal education in various schools in the state.

Speaking at the launch of the scholarship at the Banquet Hall of the Bauchi Government House recently, she explained that the scholarship was sponsored by her pet project, Bauchi Sustainable Women Economic Empowerment and Peace Initiative (BSWEEP).

According to her, the scholarship covered the payment of registrations fees, purchase of uniforms, bags, textbooks and exercise books for the beneficiaries, calling on other non-governmental organisations and philanthropists to support her project in promoting education in the state “as the burden is enormous.”

Also speaking, the Coordinator of BSWEEP, Professor Dije Bala, said the NGO was established by Hajiya Abubakar to assist less privileged women and promote girl-child education in the state.

She said the organisation had identified about 6,000 children who dropped out of school across the state due to poverty and other social problems, adding that BSWEEP is partnering UNESCO to re-enrol them in schools.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Bauchi State Ministry of Education, Nasiru Yelwa, said the present administration in the state has since its inception been giving priority to education by increasing budgetary allocations to 17 per cent and 27 per cent to the sector in 2016 and 2017 respectively as against three per cent in 2015.