Bomba Dauda
The Sunday Marshall Katung Foundation yesterday in Kafanchan, Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, awarded scholarships to 400 students across various institutions.
According to the organising committee, the initiative is aimed at supporting Southern Kaduna students in their pursuit of academic excellence and helping them achieve greatness in life.
The Chairperson of the Marshall Katung Foundation Committee for Scholarship, Gloria Mabeiam Ballason, Esq., has described education as the ultimate weapon for liberation and development, calling on government and well-meaning citizens to invest more in the educational transformation of Southern Kaduna.
Barr. Gloria Ballason, Chairman of the Organising committee
Speaking at the 2025 Marshall Katung Foundation Scholarship Award Ceremony held on Saturday, October 18, at New Choice Hall, Kafanchan, Ballason lauded the Foundation’s continuous investment in education as a deliberate response to the region’s historical neglect and infrastructural deficits.
“Over the years, the Marshall Katung Foundation has, amidst other thematic areas, invested in shoring up the education deficits of Southern Kaduna — a naturally endowed region of about five million people yet so deprived,” she said.
One of the beneficiaries
Ballason lamented that structural neglect and poor government policies have denied many children access to quality education, despite the region’s abundance of intellectual potential. She recalled that prior to the 1980s, missionary schools and teacher training colleges provided premium education in Southern Kaduna, but government takeover of these schools without effective substitutes eroded that legacy.
Citing the remarks of Prof. John Gambo La’ah, Chairman of the Forum of Southern Kaduna Professors, at last year’s award ceremony, Ballason noted that the absence of tertiary institutions had long been a major setback for the region. However, she expressed delight that the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia (FUASK) has begun to change that narrative.
“The sun has now begun to shine on us. Our fortunes are looking up,” she declared, applauding all stakeholders whose determination made FUASK a reality.
Despite this progress, Ballason highlighted the persisting challenge of academic access, noting that many secondary school students in remote communities still lack adequate STEM-ICT teachers and learning resources.
“For an area once famous for the quality of its teacher colleges, it is a contradiction that only an estimated 10% of the STEM-ICT teachers needed for Southern Kaduna currently exist,” she observed.
This year, 3,125 students applied for the Marshall Katung Foundation Scholarship, with 400 beneficiaries emerging after a rigorous selection process. The scholarship targets indigent but academically gifted undergraduate students across Southern Kaduna.
Ballason described the initiative as a “hand-holding venture” that bridges despair and hope, helping young people transition “from a community rich in potential to one transformed by a collective culture of learning, critical thinking, and empowerment.”
She urged government agencies and wealthy individuals to emulate the Foundation’s efforts, replicating its scholarship programmes to make Southern Kaduna “an intellectual capital.”
Congratulating the beneficiaries, she charged them to give back by supporting others and to remember that they are not alone in their educational journey.
“God is with you, Senator Sunday Marshall Katung believes in you, and we are rooting for you,” she affirmed. “This is your moment to flap your wings and soar unstoppable.”
