The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), and Hensard University has agreed on a strategic partnership to train youths of the Niger Delta region to obtain formal and informal education.
Head of Education of the PAP, Dr. Charles Ariye, who gave the indication, said the partnership was necessary as the amnesty programme is at it's reintegration phase which focuses on training youths to reintegrate them into the society.
Speaking when he led a team from the PAP on an inspection visit to Hensard University in Toru Orua, Bayelsa State, Dr. Ariye noted that with the facilities on ground, Hensard University has what is required to deliver quality education to the youths of the region and serve the interest of the PAP scheme.
He said: “We are here from the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Abuja. As you are aware, the amnesty programme is a DDR programme and we are in the "R" stage of it which is reintegration. Basically it means training of the youths of the Niger Delta in formal and informal education so that they can be easily reintegrated back to society.
“Hensard is a high education institution and within the context of formal education they wrote us a letter to partner with the PAP and we are here for facility inspection.
“We were well received; they took us round and we are satisfied with what we have seen. We are going to return to Abuja, write our report and hopefully the final decision will be in favour of Hensard in terms of partnership with the PAP.”
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Dileep Kumar, said it will be a thing of pleasure to have beneficiaries of the amnesty programme at Hensard University.
He explained that a partnership between the PAP and Hensard University will be a great opportunity for Bayelsans, as it has what it takes to deliver quality education to the beneficiaries of the programme.
He stated that the institution is open to more partnerships to deliver academic excellence across the nation and throughout the globe.
“This visit is a great opportunity for Bayelsa state specifically and for Hensard University. This is because the PAP has a lot of youths who will like to get appropriate education and we are chosen for this particular programme.
"We are so happy to get amnesty students over here, they have trusted us because we have quality of education, faculty members. We are assuring the PAP that we will take care of the students in the proper way towards achieving the set goals," he said.
