By Ayodele Oni
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Abuja and United Nations Children Education Fund, (UNICEF) are collaborating to remove Zamfara from states tagged as educationally disadvantaged states in the country.
To this end, the two bodies have provided teaching and learning materials for 250 public primary and junior secondary schools in the state.
Flagging off the distribution of the materials, in Gusau, Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Dauda Lawal said that education is a top priority of his administration’s six smart agenda adding that education is the foundation of civilisation.
A statement by the spokesperson of the governor, Sulaiman Idris, revealed that the materials were provided by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Abuja and UNICEF.
According to the statement, the items to be distributed were for 250 beneficiary schools, and it comprise 242,176 Textbooks for different grades, 200 Play Materials for ECCDE, 25 ECCDE Tables & Chairs, 8,210 Library materials resources, and 35 UNICEF (NLP) focus schools for solar power equipment.
Governor Lawal said that Zamfara, an educationally disadvantaged state in Nigeria, will continue to require support and engagement from national and international partners to advance education in the state.
“I am delighted to be at this significant event of distributing reading materials to students in our basic education subsector. This gesture is one of the many interventions that Zamfara State benefits from.
“We are overhauling 60 secondary schools across the state under the World Bank Assisted Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA).
“Each local government area has six secondary schools undergoing renovation, while the state capital, Gusau, has eight
“The education emergency declared in the state is not limited to only basic and secondary education but also tertiary-level education.
“Provision of new facilities and rehabilitation of old ones is ongoing in all tertiary institutions across the state.
“Today’s event is a step in the right direction at the right time. It complements our efforts to provide Zamfara with qualitative and equitable education to liberate our people from ignorance and poverty.
“UNICEF’s noble objectives of promoting literacy and educational opportunities for students and learners in the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) initiative, aimed at facilitating learning both within and outside the classrooms, are commendable”
The governor further disclosed steps his government took to settle the backlog of WAEC and NECO debts owed by the previous administrations of the state.
“We are reviving education at all levels to give meaning to the lives of our young people. Today, our students are writing both WAEC and NECO examinations like their counterparts across the country, leading to timely result releases.
“We have negotiated with the examination bodies and began settlement of liabilities inherited due to the failure of the past regimes to meet this basic requirement.”
 Abuja and United Nations Children Education Fund, (UNICEF) are collaborating to remove Zamfara from states tagged as educationally disadvantaged states in the country.){kind=link}