Gov. Abba Yusuf of Kano State says the state government is presently sponsoring about 2,600 postgraduate students studying in various universities, in 14 countries.

The governor said this on Thursday at the opening of the First EU Study Fair in Africa, at the Afficent Event Center, Kano.

The governor said his administration would partner relevant stakeholders, including European countries to open more educational opportunities for the people of the state.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Aminu Gwarzo, said they would not relent in ensuring that these opportunities were explored maximally.

Mr Yusuf said the staging of the fair was timely, especially given the commitment of his administration to the development of the education sector, and the huge youth population.

He said the administration had taken measures to address the challenges in the education sector and had developed modalities to get about one million out-of-school children in the state back to school.

“To address these challenges, my administration embarked on re-boarding all the de-boarded secondary schools, as well as providing all the needed infrastructure and working materials aimed at uplifting the standard of education in the state,” he said.

Earlier, the European Union (EU) Ambassador in Nigeria, Samuele Isopi, said Kano was chosen for the fair because of its population and being the melting point of different cultures and traditions.

Ms Isopi said that the EU was amenable to collaboration, so that Nigerians especially students from the northern part of the country, could gain admission and scholarships to study in Europe.

(NAN)