The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, has announced scholarship awards for five indigenes of the Zazzau Emirate to support educational development in the area.

Danjumma Ismail, NCAT’s rector, disclosed this to newsmen in Zaria on Sunday at the sidelines of the 33rd annual general meeting and annual public lecture of Zaria Education Development Association.

Mr Ismail represented the speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, who was the guest of honour at the event.

He said the speaker had facilitated the establishment of several federal academic institutions in Zaria to strengthen the emirate’s status as a centre of learning in Nigeria.

According to him, the speaker also encouraged NCAT and other institutions to replicate such contributions towards advancing education in the Emirate.

“By doing so, the college hereby announces five scholarships to ZEDA to support educational development. We are highly impressed with ZEDA’s initiatives in promoting education,” he said.

The rector said NCAT would work closely with ZEDA to ensure that eligible candidates were selected, stating that the college offers more than 200 academic and professional courses.

“People focus only on pilot training, but we have many other courses that are even more marketable. We will sit with ZEDA and advise them accordingly,” he added.

Mr Ismail reiterated the speaker’s commitment to supporting ZEDA and the Kaduna government in providing infrastructure to boost research and development in Zaria.

Earlier, Abdul-Alimi Bello, chairman of ZEDA’s central working committee, said the association had upheld its mandate to promote quality education and youth empowerment across the Emirate.

“Many beneficiaries of ZEDA initiatives have distinguished themselves academically and professionally, contributing meaningfully to society,” he said.

Mr Bello added that this year’s lecture was delivered by  Isa Pantami, former communications minister.

Mr Pantami’s lecture focused on ‘Artificial Intelligence in Education: Opportunities, Challenges and Ethical Implications in Nigerian Education’.  

(NAN)