Federal Ministry of Education has offered scholarships to 222 girls to study in Nigerian higher institutions while universities across the country are under lock and key.

The Acting Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Adamu Hussaini disclosed this in a statement released on Monday, August 21.

The scholarship is said to be part of the ministry's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Female Special Scholarship Awards program to achieve goal four of the SDG which is designed to "Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women”

Hussaini said 338 candidates participated in the selection process.

The beneficiaries of the scholarship according to the Deputy Director, Nigerian Award, Federal Scholarship Board, Mr Prinzo Nwanyadimo were nominated by an Inter-Ministerial Committee in February 2017.

He added that the nominations were based on the performances of the candidates in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

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Hussaini said that the Federal Ministry of Education will continue to build on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2000-2015 which made gender equality a top priority.

He therefore urged the states and local governments in the country to key into the programme to afford Nigerian girls the opportunity of quality education.