The Chairman of Newsportal Limited, publishers of Newsportal, Mr. ThankGod Ntaku, has criticised the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, over its plans to award scholarships to candidates to study courses which are offered by Universities in Nigeria.
It should be recalled that the NDDC recently made a publication calling for applications from interested candidates for Master degrees Overseas in the following courses – Biomedical Engineering, Software Engineering, Marine Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Robotic Engineering. Other Courses are Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Maths/Science, Medical Sciences, Hospitality Management, Law, Architecture and Environmental Science.
In a statement on Friday, Ntaku said the decision of the NDDC to sponsor students to read courses which are offered in Nigerian Universities was tantamount to waste, insensitivity to the actual educational needs of the people of the Niger Delta, adding that it further exposes the fact that needs assessment were not properly done before such a decision was taken.
Ntaku said that it was surprising that the NDDC would reverse itself in less than two years, pointing out that the Commission had in December, 2021 said it would begin to sponsor students to Nigerian Universities instead of abroad, particularly in those courses that were obtainable in Nigeria.
He recalled that the NDDC, while attending an event organised to commemorate the World Youth Day in Calabar, Cross State, said it would rather plunge monies being spent on overseas scholarships into the universities in the Niger Delta in order to develop the institutions.
The Online Publisher described as illogical the idea being pushed by the NDDC that the programme was aimed at boosting the human resource development in the Niger Delta, arguing that it would make more sense to sponsor more students in Nigerian Universities for Master degrees instead of sending a few outside the country.
He noted that it was also worrisome to think of overseas scholarships at a time when the exchange rate of the Dollar to the Naira had almost hit the rooftops.
Ntaku, who holds the view that the academic challenges in the Niger Delta areas had to do with the standard of public primary and secondary schools, advised the Commission to read the mood of the country, and assist in ensuring that Nigeria’s educational system was heavily improved upon by deploying resources to our schools.
