Out Of School Children: Katsina Commits Five Billion Naira To Lift 150 Public Primary Schools

By Daniel Maduka

In a bid to improve the dilapidated State and deplorable teaching and learning conditions in most public educational institutions in Katsina State, Governor Dikko Radda on Thursday, February 8, commenced the distributions of five billion Naira for the rehabilitation of 150 public primary schools.

The  funds, according to Governor Radda, are being disbursed under a programme tagged  “Transforming Education System At State Level, TESS”

The benefitting schools, he said,  were selected based on certain identified criteria, which ranges from level of dilapidation, number of pupils in catchment communities, and dearth of water as well as state of sanitation and hygiene facilities.

The funds, he noted, will be managed by the various School Based Management Committees SBMC’s ,while also calling for a judicious utilization of the funds .

To further ensure an improvement in the standards of teaching and learning particularly in rural areas, Governor Radda directed that any recently recuited teachers who decline posting to rural schools, should be forced to resign, to make way for those willing to key in to the State Government vision of lifting the state of public schools.

In the same vein, the Governor charged all relevant supervising bodies to close monitor the. activities of teachers ,so as to ensure that they commit themselves to their jobs,warning that any acts of insubordination and or sabotage among teachers and other staff will not be tolerated.

“The State Government will not take it lightly with any teacher that absconds from duty post . We are, also, calling on education stakeholders especially,community leaders to regularly visit schools in their catchment areas to monitor the quality of lessons being delivered and teachers attendance.

The Coordinator of TESS, Binta Abdulmumini, said the programme is basically aimed at returning out-of – school children back to school in the state

The Source reports that for a few years now, there has been an astronomical rise in the number of out – of – school children in Katsina  due to the upsurge in banditry and other security challenges.

An estimated 20% of public schools in Katsina are believed to have either been forced to close down and/or completely taken over by bandits and other criminal elements

Katsina remains one of the epicenters of banditry in the Northern Region of Nigeria.