UNDP, Katsina to Provide Free Education for Orphans 

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

The Katsina State Government has partnered the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide free primary and secondary school education for orphan caused by banditry in the state.

The state Governor, Aminu Bello Masari who disclosed this at a one year anniversary of the Katsina State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KTSCHMA), said the UNDP in collaboration with the government would also empower widows and other victims of banditry.

He explained that the state government was currently conducting a census across the frontline local government areas to ascertain the number of orphans and widows for the commencement of the free education and empowerment programmes.

Masari said: “We are conducting a census, and there is a very good development. I am happy to hear that this organisation (KTSCHMA) is putting its attention, especially on those local government areas that are badly affected-they are all badly affected but some are more directly badly affected than others.

“We are happy that UNDP has seen what we have done and are also partnering us to see how we can take care of these orphans and widows by empowering them. Orphans who are of school age will be offered primary to secondary school education.”

The governor noted that the essence of the programme was to ensure that every child of school age in the state is given an opportunity to get the basic and fundamental education.

Earlier, the state Commissioner for Education, Nuhu Yakubu Danja, said 314,482 people have been enrolled into the contributory healthcare scheme in the last one year of its inauguration.

He added that out of the 314,482 enrollees, 274,397 are enrolled into the formal sector programme of the scheme, which represent 90 per cent of the state labour force.