The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has launched an Education Endowment Fund (EEF) and a scholarship scheme for out-of-school children affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East.
Speaking at the launch of the scheme in Gombe, NEDC Managing Director, Mohammed Goni Alkali, said the EEF was a scholarship scheme targeting 4,953 undergraduates, 102 postgraduates and 42 potential PhD students.
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He added that the scheme would also accommodate children who had attained school age during the conflict but were deprived of the opportunity to access schools because of insurgency.
Alkali explained that the EEF was aimed at revitalising the quality of the education sector, which had been worsened by 10 years of Boko Haram insurgency in the region.
He stated that the commission had launched a scholarship portal for access of the EEF scheme, as well as presented starter packs to 198 graduates of its ICT training programme.
The managing director explained that the commission had upgraded three schools in the state and would intervene in other sectors of the economy.
Presenting an overview of the fund, acting chairperson of the NEDC-EEF, Hajiya Asmau Mohammed, said it is aimed at improving infrastructure, personnel and capacity development, among others.
In his speech, the deputy governor of Gombe State, Dr Manassah Daniel Jatau, commended NEDC for living up to its mandate and pledged the state government’s support to the commission.
