Free education in Katsina: Myth or reality?

Data available in the state education ministry showed that by 2004/2005 session, school enrolment in the entire state was only 142,729 out of about two million population of school age. This seeming failure or refusal for parents to send their children to school became a serious concern to many governments. An investigation carried out indicates […]

Data available in the state education ministry showed that by 2004/2005 session, school enrolment in the entire state was only 142,729 out of about two million population of school age. This seeming failure or refusal for parents to send their children to school became a serious concern to many governments. An investigation carried out indicates that one of the causative factors was the inability of many parents to pay fees, buy books and uniforms for their wards. It was also found that where the parents are even ready to send their wards to school, lack of classrooms and teaching facilities are other impediments.

When he assumed governance in 2007, one of the first policy decisions taken was to reform the education sector and make it in-tune with the realities of the 21st century. Education became one of the most prioritized sectors and an increase in budgetary allocation was approved. Within one year of his assumption of office, school enrolment in the state’s secondary schools spiked by about 89%. Precisely, from 142.729 enrolments, the number leap frog to over 1,045,042, and by the second year, the enrolment reached a surprised 1.6 million.

To further buttress the determination of his administration in this area, 130 more secondary schools were constructed to bridge the gap created as a result of massive enrolment of students by the parents, back to school. For instance since the introduction of the reforms in 2007, and three years later, quality of education in the state has improved leading to the gargantuan leap frog of the state from one of the educationally disadvantaged states in the federation in 1998 to one of the leading examples of how educational investment should. The federal government, in 2009 honored the state with a whopping N700 million cheque as a gift for the its tremendous investment in the education sector as well as its deliberate and sustained efforts towards improving the quality of education in all facets of the system in the state.

Today, Katsina State is one of the few with recognized secondary and higher institutions in the country. This change did not come overnight as strategic options were considered and taken for an all inclusive efforts so that from enrolment, facilities and teaching equipments, a holistic approach would have been ensured in the next few years to come.

One of the areas critically attended to and catered for was in teacher’s recruitment and training. It is a known fact that no amount of investment in the education sector can bring any meaningful change and improvement without investment on the teacher’s welfare and on facilities. It is to tackle this that the state government introduced several other measures including the introduction and approval of the new teachers salary scale, the TSS.

The TSS has since placed both the secondary and primary school teachers in the state in the league of their colleagues elsewhere in Africa. Additionally, over 5000 teachers in the primary schools were handed down interest free loans to enable them secure motorcycles in order to ease transportation. More so, the state government also introduced in service training to help improve the capacity of both primary and secondary school teachers in the state.

To ensure that adequate funding is ensured, and to provide uninterrupted funding for the sector in the state without fear of the usual and normal allocation release palaver, a scholarship trust fund was initiated with a whopping N1.5bn by the government.  This fund is not only meant to carter for higher education, it is equally set up to provide backing for the sector should there be any need for prompt intervention in the state.

So far the free education in the state has not only revolutionized the sector in terms of quantity and quality, it has also injects warm blood into a system that was nearing collapse in the last few years. Today, unlike many other days free education in the state has made it possible for over 80% of school age children to be in their classes.

The import of this innovation is the re-writing of the map of states in federation where coverage of education is nearing 100%. With the sustained investment in the free education, the reality is that Katsina will soon become the only place where a sizeable chunk of citizens are educated.

Kagara can be reached at [email protected]