Kano Declares ‘State of Emergency’ on Education Over 989,234 Out-of-School Children

Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, has declared a state of emergency on education as part of the effort to checkmate the alarming proliferation of out-of-school children in the state with the current figure at 989,234.

The Governor made the declaration during a grand ceremony held at government House Kano on Saturday.

He said the decision to declare the state of emergency on education became necessary with regards to the decay of the quality of education and the infrastructure in the 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. It is a call to action for all stakeholders—government, educators, parents, the private sector and the community at large—to unite and prioritize the revitalization of our education system.”

Governor Yusuf, lamented the problem of out of school children in the state, which he said is threatening to rob an entire generation of their right to education and a brighter future.

“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.”

He added,” The statistics are grim and the faces of these children, devoid of the promise of learning, haunt us as a collective failure.

“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The lack of instructional materials further compounds the problem, leaving our teachers and students to struggle with outdated and insufficient resources.

He lamented on how over 4.7 million pupils sit on bare floors to take lesson in some schools in the state, “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.”

“Despite the decay of the sector ,our administration since assumption of office have commence rehabilitation of schools and provision of instructional materials to ensure effective service delivery”

As part of the emergency action, the governor approved the hiring of additional 10,000 teachers, adding that teachers will enjoy periodic training and retraining so as to achieve the vision of making “every teacher, a caring educator”.

“At least 1,000 Academic and non-academic staff will be employed into tertiary institutions,” he said.

The Governor noted that his administration have paid the registration fees of all Kano indigines studying at various Higher institutions of learning accross the Nation.

” We’ve set aside over 300 hundred million to be disburse to teachers as soft loan ,geared towards boosting their morale for effective service delivery”

Earlier,the Commissioner for Education Alhaji Umar Doguwa said ,the Governor has approved the payment of NECO ,NBAIS examination fees to over one hundred and eighteen thousand Kano indigines secondary Schools students who are writing their Exams this year.

Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano

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