THE Delta State government is in the process of developing hostel accommodation in all its tertiary institutions in the state, Commissioner for Higher Education, Engr. Jude Sinebe has said.
Sinebe disclosed this yesterday at the Unity Hall, Government House, Asaba while briefing the press on the activities of his ministry.
According to him, the hostel facilities that would have the capacity to accommodate 60 to 80 per cent of the student population, would be developed via Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Build Operate Transfer (BOT), concession adding that the ministry had engaged two consultants to drive the process following the approval from the state executive council for the project.
He stated that approval was granted for the development of two pairs of blocks of hostels (one male and one female), pointing out that each of the blocks is to have a minimum of 102 rooms, “which is expected to accommodate 408 students”.
In all, the commissioner said, both blocks would have a total of 204 rooms expected to accommodate 816 students, adding that the number of blocks in pairs that could be built in each institution would be decided on a case by case basis as determined by need, even as he disclosed that the proposed hostel blocks in all tertiary institutions will be uniform and the construction will be expected to be completed within a record time.
Speaking further, Sinebe said that the State Bursary and Scholarship Board offers over seven windows of opportunities for students to access the state government’s financial support services, which he listed to include Students Special Assistance Scheme, scholarship to local, scholarship to oversea/external, first class scholarship and financial assistance to students in the Nigerian Law School among others.
The commissioner noted that the Students Special Assistance Scheme was introduced and approved by the state government to replace the popular bursary regime, pointing out that the board was, at the moment, paying the 2013/2014 academic year to the students who registered and were verified by their respective institutions.
“So far, the board has paid over 12,000 students from 62 tertiary institutions the sum of N250, 000,000 at the rate of N20, 000 per student,” he further added.
Meanwhile the state government today said it has set machinery in motion for the privatization of some of the state owned enterprises.
Key among the enterprises already on the list for commercialization is the Bendel Glass Industry, Ughelli, its housing estate, as well as the Uzere Cassava Processing Factory, Uzere, among others.
The state Commissioner for Commerce and industry, (Mrs.) Mary Iyasere, who disclosed this today during the ongoing ministerial press briefing in the state, is hopeful that all relevant processes in that direction would be perfected before the end of the first quarter of 2017.
Iyasere while saying that the privatization process was necessitated by the need to fast track industrialization in the state posited that the move will go a long way in ensuring that the industries become more viable and profit oriented for the benefit of the state and its entire citizenry.
Similarly, the commissioner disclosed that plans are also in the offing to resuscitate the state’s trade fair complex at Osubi to a trade exhibition centre that would house all year round activities, just as she stated that arrangement is already being concluded with investors in that direction.
Also, the commissioner hinted that efforts have been stepped up by the present administration to perfect the completion of two out of the four Fish Feed Mills project that was started by the immediate past administration in 2012.
According to her, “all the equipment for the projects are either on sites or close to the sites. Two of the factory buildings at Uvwie and Ika have been completed by this administration.
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