The Executive governor of Kano state Engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf, on Saturday, revealed that his administration met no fewer than 4.7 million pupils sitting on bare floor in primary schools across the state upon assumption of office in May 29, 2023.
Governor Yusuf made the revelation during the occasion of the Declaration of State of Emergency on Education in Kano.
He said the state government was declaring the State-of-Emergency on education with the full support of the National Union of Teachers (NUT).
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Governor Yusuf stated that the lack of instructional materials further
compounded the problem, “leaving our teachers and students to struggle with outdated and insufficient resources.
“Over 4.7 million pupils are sitting on bare floors to take lessons while bout 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. The encroachment of public school lands and the conversion of these vital institutions into private business premises is an affront to our communal values and a direct assault on our
commitment to public education.
“This reckless appropriation of educational spaces for commercial use is unacceptable and must stopped immediately.”
According to him:. “Today, I stand before you with a profound sense of duty, compelled by the pressing need to
address the precarious state of our education sector.
“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 be given to its upcoming generation because no people can grow beyond the quality and standard of their education system, we must, therefore take radical as well as practical measures to reposition education provisioning in our State.”
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He also bemoaned the proliferation of out-of-school children in the state, but promised that his administration has taken adequate steps to confront the menace.
“It is with a heavy heart that I bring forth this discourse, as the challenges we face in the education sector are as formidable as they are alarming, and the urgency with which we must act is undeniable.
“Our educational landscape, once a beacon of hope and opportunity for our
youths, and an example for other states to copy, now stands shrouded in the shadows of unacceptable neglect and decay.
“Our beloved State is witnessing an alarming proliferation of out-of-school children, with the current figure standing at 989,234 children,” he added.
Governor Yusuf spoke in the presence of the National Leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso; and the chairman of the occasion, former Governor of Cross River state, Donald Duke, among other dignitaries.
Meanwhile, the Executive governor of Kano state Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, condemned the appropriation of public school grounds for private commercial ventures by the previous administration as a flagrant breach of communal trust.
Expressing disapproval of the former administration’s negligent stance towards education, Yusuf criticized the emphasis placed by the previous regime on the commercial exploitation of school properties.
He said that, besides the deficiency of fundamental teaching tools, the dire situation was exacerbated by the insufficiency of resources, leaving educators and students struggling with outmoded and inadequate equipment.
Additionally, Yusuf expressed sorrow over the escalating problem of out-of-school children, with nearly a million youngsters currently denied access to educational opportunities.