Few days to the end of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, the Nigerian government has presented ambulances to 18 of the country’s more than 100 federal government colleges, otherwise known as unity schools.
The Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opiah, made the presentation at the Federal Government Boys College, Apo, Abuja, on Friday.
He also presented two buses to the two schools without buses.
Mr Opiah said this is the first set of purchases in the government’s plans for all 104 unity colleges to have an ambulance.
The Ambulances delivered to Unity Colleges. (PHOTO CREDIT: VON) “We would be procuring another set of 15 ambulances from the 2023 appropriation and these would be distributed on the basis of distance to urban centres, difficulty in accessing hospital services and geopolitical spread,†he said.
He said the ambulances would be jointly managed by the schools and the government hospital in their community.
“For clarity, the ambulances would be in the care of the government hospital in your community for which a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been prepared,†the minister further noted.
He explained that the option of handing over the ambulances to the hospitals was informed by the need for functional use, saying “if it is left with your individual schools, it may not be used for up to three months.â€
READ ALSO: Visitation Panel: Nigerian government presents gazetted white paper to universities’ pro-chancellors He said: “The significance of this is that the Federal Ministry of Education not only wants our children to be well educated but to also ensure that they remain in good health in order to have sound minds for the pursuit of learning. Also worth noting is the fact that this gesture deals with the twins of human capital development, that is education and health.â€
Beneficiaries The beneficiary schools are Federal Government Girls College (FGC), Nasarawa State; Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Langtang, Plateau State; Federal Science and Technical College (FSTC) Ogugu, Kogi State and FGC, Azare, Bauchi, State.
Others are FSTC, Michika, Adamawa State; FGGC, Jalingo, Taraba State; FSTC Katsina State; FSTC, Kaduna; FGC Gusau, Zamfara State; FGC Nise, Anambra State; and FSTC Amuzu, Ebonyi State.
On the list are also FSTC Umuaka; FGC Akwa-Ibom State; FGC, Ikom, Cross River State; FGC Odi, Bayelsa State; FGC, Ikirun, Osun State; FSTC, Igangan, Ogun State; and FSTC Ijebu-Mushin, Ogun State.
Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
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