Govt constructing 160 additional schools

Sokoto State Government says it has commenced the construction of no fewer than 160 new primary and secondary schools across the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Special Adviser to Gov. Aminu Tambuwal on Media and Publicity, Mallam Imam Imam, made the disclosure in Sokoto on Monday.

Imam spoke in Sokoto at the opening a one-day Training of Field Officers for Pilot Survey on Schools under the State of Emergency on Education in the state.

According to him, the schools consist of 100 primary schools, 45 senior secondary schools and 15 junior secondary schools.

“If there is any sector that should be turned around, it should be the education sector.

“And this does not only lie with the teachers, but with us as citizens,” he said.

Imam said the role of the media in ensuring the success of the declaration of the emergency could not be overemphasised.

The Chairman of the Technical Committee on the State of Emergency in Education in the state, Prof. Riskuwa Shehu, commended the state government for the move.

Shehu lamented that over sixty per cent of teachers in the basic and secondary schools were unqualified, while more than half of the structures in those schools were dilapidated.

”The declaration of the emergency would therefore help drastically in redressing the ugly trend.

”The survey is targeted at collating a comprehensive needs assessment report on each of the 2,264 Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Schools in the state,” he said.

The Commissioner, Basic and Secondary Schools, Dr Jabbi Kilgori, said the survey would come up with empirical, evidence-based data on the schools.

He said this would provide for effective planning to revamp the state’s education sector.

The Leader, Sokoto State House of Assembly, Alhaji Garba Bello, who is also the Vice Chairman, House Committee on Education, pledged the lawmakers’ support to ensure the success of the exercise.

The Executive Secretary of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Faruku Shehu, said he was happy that the declaration of the state of emergency in education was already making huge positive impact.

”The emergency has started addressing some of the most formidable problems hitherto plaguing the education sector,” Shehu said.

In his remarks, Dr Shadi Sabeh, Chairman, Schools Specific Needs and Assessment, said that the pilot survey would be conducted by 75 enumerators and supervisors in 40 model schools, within the next four days.

He said that the social media platform would be used to track supervisors and enumerators, in order to ensure the collection of accurate data of the schools’ needs.