The management of the Korea-Nigeria Friendship Institute of Vocational and Advanced Technology, Lokoja, has offered full scholarships to three pupils who built a sport utility vehicle at an exhibition.
It was gathered that the beneficiaries of the scholarships are pupils of St. Peter’s College, Idah, who recently wrote their Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations.
The pupils — Samson Emeje, 29; Yusuf Ayuba, 20; and Tenimu Abubakar, 18 — had invented and exhibited an electrically-powered tricycle and SUV at the 2021 and 2022 STETSCOM Science Exhibition.
Presenting the admission letters to the pupils on Wednesday, the Rector of the institute, Williams Charles, said that they had exhibited rare technical skills and deserved to be aided in advancing their talents in order to be useful to society.
Charles said that the institute had been recognised globally for manpower training in advancing science and technology, thus contributing to the growth and development of the state.
He said that the institute’s management was moved into action by the feat displayed by the pupils at the 2021 and 2022 STETSCOM Science Exhibition by inventing an electrically-powered tricycle and SUV.
The rector praised the pupils for showing their innovative skills by using locally-sourced materials, stressing that people with creative minds were special humans for their abilities to put things on paper and translate them into reality.
While commending Gov. Yahaya Bello for his unflinching commitment to the institute, he appealed for more support in order to meet the demands of the forthcoming resource inspection by the National Board for Technical Education.
Charles called on politicians, corporate organisations and the government to beam their searchlights on young people with natural skills like the three pupils to afford them the opportunity to undertake the life transformation courses being offered by the institute.
One of the beneficiaries, Emeje, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, thanked the rector for the gesture, saying that studying at the institute was a dream come true.
Emeje, who attributed the talent to God, said that he got the inspiration from his childhood and that he had often constructed such innovations with ease.
He thanked the management of NKFI for the scholarships and for giving them the opportunity to realise their dreams.
On his part, the Principal of the college, Mr Zakari Jonah, commended the institute for the scholarship, promising to create awareness among secondary school students to embrace the institute to further their academic pursuits.
Jonah implored governments at all levels to go to the grassroots to identify talents and develop them through technical and vocational education in order to make them self-reliant.
