A prominent politician in Adamawa State, Senator Abubakar Girei, has canvassed for the return of craft schools.
Abubakar Girei, in an interaction with newsmen at his Yola home, also made a case for corruption-free management of the student loan scheme run by the Federal Government.
“We must also address social roots. Education is vital. In our days, we had craft schools where we learned trades.
“Those are gone,” Girei lamented, stressing that their return would help national economic development.
Relating the issue to Adamawa State, Girei said Governor Murtala Nyako (who was in power from 2007–2014) once revived skill centers in Adamawa State, which supplied skilled manpower to big establishments such as the Dangote Group.
He expressed regret that the skills centres are now not fully functional and advised the various states and the Federal Government to prioritize education that combines literacy with life skills.
Speaking on the student loan scheme currently run by the Federal Government, Senator Girei said although many students and institutions have benefited from it, certain reports of fraud around disbursement are disturbing.
“The program is laudable and should be sustained, but we must eliminate corruption and make it work,” he said.
