BNW

B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News

...For a better society... Wednesday, September 15 2004 Vol 17 No.30 News Editorial Politics Opinion Features Foreign News The Arts Sports Education Business Money/Market Travels/Tourism Property/Environment Columnists Federal scholarship for JSS, varsity students VINCENT EGUNYANGA, Abuja HOPE beckons to brilliant students of poor parental background as the Federal Government is to commence a scholarship scheme for them, beginning next December. Such students are to enjoy scholarship at government expense from junior secondary school (JSS) to university level. Women Affairs Minister Obong Rita Akpan and Information and National Orientation Minister, Chief Chukwuemeka Chikelu broke the cheery news at the former�s ministerial press briefing in Abuja yesterday. Akpan said the scholarship programme will commence this December. She said: "you have to be poor, but brilliant to qualify for the scholarship." The minister regretted that despite the abundant human and natural resourcves over 70 per cvent of the country�s population remained poor. She regretted that most of the poor are women and children. Accoding to Obong Akpan, the current status of women and children can be traced to the underlying social, political, economic and historicval factors that have slowed down development on Nigeria over the years. The minister also said some of the most worrisome statistics which relate to women and children include high level of HIV/AIDS infection, high female school drop out rates, high level of maternal and infant mortality, growing numbers of children inforced labour worsening condition of poor women and the widening of the employment gap between men and women. She said while the reversal of these broad statistical indicators will take time, the truth remained that significant population of women were afflicted by these. Also speaking Chief Chikelu described the minister of women affairs as passing her mandate diligently, pointing out that Nigerian women have been empowered socially, politically and economically during the life of the present administration. The minister who was represented by a Deputy Director of Inforamtion Mr. Usman Adams also explained that the ministry of women affairs has adhered to the demands of the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS) document by uplifting the weaker segments of the society including women and children. � 2004 @ Champion Newspapers Limited (All Right Reserved). Powered By dnetsystems.net dnet�

	BNW News
Voice of Biafra | Biafra World | Biafra Online | Biafra Web | MASSOB | Biafra Forum | BLM | Biafra Consortium
	© 2001 BNW BiafraNigeriaWorld  Privacy Policy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Powered by ACENetwork ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Axiom PSI Yam Festival Series, Iri Ji Nd'Igbo the Kola-Nut Series,Nigeria Masterweb