Gov Yusuf declares State of Emergency on education, reopens schools shut by Ganduje

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, on Saturday, declared State of Emergency on education. He also announced the employment of 5,632 teachers under the Better Education Service Delivery For All (BESDA) programme, a World Bank initiative which aims at increasing equitable access for out-of-school children in Nigeria and improve literacy in focus states. Speaking […]

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, on Saturday, declared State of Emergency on education.

He also announced the employment of 5,632 teachers under the Better Education Service Delivery For All (BESDA) programme, a World Bank initiative which aims at increasing equitable access for out-of-school children in Nigeria and improve literacy in focus states.

Speaking during the event, Yusuf said, “As your elected Governor, entrusted with the solemn responsibility of steering our state towards prosperity and progress, I cannot ignore the glaring reality that confronts us in the realm of education, and with education being our number one priority, and believing that education is not only a public good, but is also the greatest asset that any people can bequeath to its upcoming generation because no people can grow beyond the quality and standard of their education system, we must, therefore take radical but practical measures to reposition education provisioning in our State.

“Our beloved State is witnessing an alarming proliferation of out-of-school children, (with the current figure standing at 989,234 children of both genders), a situation that threatens to rob an entire generation of their right to education and a brighter future. The statistics are grim and the faces of these children, devoid of the promise of learning, haunt us as a collective failure.

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“Our schools, which should be sanctuaries of knowledge, discipline and growth, are in a deplorable state. Dilapidated infrastructure is a common sight – roofs caving in walls crumbling, and classrooms that can no longer provide a safe and conducive learning environment.

“The lack of instructional materials further compounds the problem, leaving our teachers and students struggle with outdated and insufficient resources. Above 4.7Million pupils are sitting on bare floors to take lessons while about 400 schools have only one teacher for all classes subjects and all pupils. Rather than building more classrooms and providing basic furniture in the schools, as well as hiring more teachers, the administration we took over from chose to butcher the land belonging to those schools, in some places demolishing classrooms to create space for shops. Those schools that they could not sell, they closed them down and got them vandalized.”

Speaking further on the condition of infrastructure, the governor lamented the level of decay of the facilities.

He said, “Imagine, the vast expanse of educational facilities that dotted our landscape: 7,057 primary schools, 1,148 junior secondary schools, 813 senior secondary schools, and 49 science and technical schools.These numbers, while ostensibly impressive, belie the grim reality that lies beneath the surface.

“Let us delve deeper, and you will discover disheartening statistics: out of the 42,516 total classrooms available in our basic schools, a mere 22% meet the most basic standards of habitability.

“Nearly four out of every five classrooms in our primary and junior secondary schools are marred by dilapidation and disrepair, rendering them unsuitable for the noble pursuit of knowledge. Today, I stand before you to announce the declaration of a STATE OF EMERGENCY in the education sector. A state of emergency, as declared today, is an extraordinary legal measure that allows us to take some bold steps to address these critical challenges swiftly and effectively.”

The governor equally announced the reopening of all public boarding schools closed down by the administration of former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje across the state.