The Catholic Bishop of Katsina-Ala Diocese, Most Rev Isaac Dugu has provided scholarship to over two hundred and fifty (250) youngsters leaving in IDP,s camps in Anyiin and Ugba towns both in Katsina-Ala LOgo LGA separately.
At a ceremony held yesterday in Katsina-Ala, His Lordship, Bishop Dugu, made the announcement that two hundred children of internally displaced persons have already enrolled in primary school, with a further fifty children enrolled elsewhere.
Bishop Dugu added that the purpose is to provide the IDP Children an opportunity to have access to school as a method of empowerment and also avert a situation where they will grow to be a threat to society.
He asserted that twenty four (24) youngsters from the camps have also been admitted into St Paul’s Secondary School, Kyado, Divine Love Catholic Girls’ Secondary School and St Gerald’s Secondary School Katsina-Ala while two (2) have proceeded to Enugu; all on full scholarship from the Diocese.
According to him the willingness of the Diocese is to provide education for all IDP children who are desirous , while emphasizing that the goal is to empty the IDP Camps through education since it is difficult for them to return to their ancestral land with nothing in place to forestall the incursion by armed herdsmen.
The Bishop further said a primary school for the IDPs children has already been built within the premises of St Athanasius Parish, Anyiin and provided with all the basic needs of the learners to ensure that no child is denied access to education, lamenting that some of the children were born in camps and have never had access to the four walls of a classroom.
” guaranteeing that the children will be trained to whatever level of education possible, and would be made to spend part of their holidays with some members of the Diocesan family outside the camps to give them a sense of belonging, adding that they have become the adopted children of the Diocese.
According to Bishop Dugu everything humanly possible will be done to guarantee childrens of the victims were educated to the greatest available standards.
