More than 21,000 students have benefited from scholarships and education support programmes introduced by the Kaduna State Government, with over N1 billion invested in scholarships, student loans and tuition support within the last three years.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Ahmed Maiyaki, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Kaduna, describing education as a central pillar of Governor Uba Sani’s human capital development agenda.
According to the commissioner, the administration has implemented a range of interventions aimed at reducing financial barriers to higher education, including a 50 per cent reduction in tuition fees across state-owned tertiary institutions.
The government has also spent N493.27 million on overseas scholarships for 42 students studying courses such as medicine, engineering, cybersecurity and computer science, while N425.52 million has been disbursed to indigent students in tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
In addition, N105 million has been committed to the state’s student loan scheme, while N27.25 million was released to assist law graduates with registration fees at the Nigerian Law School.
Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Scholarship and Loans Board, Yahaya Saleh Ibrahim, said the programme has supported students in more than 40 institutions, including universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, nursing schools and colleges of health technology.
He noted that Kaduna has become one of the first states in Nigeria to operate both scholarship and student loan schemes on a large scale, expanding access to higher education for thousands of young people.
Beneficiaries have welcomed the initiative, saying it has reduced the financial burden on families and enabled more students to pursue their academic goals.
The state government said the investments are aimed at producing a skilled workforce, promoting innovation and ensuring that financial challenges do not prevent qualified students from accessing higher education.
