'Uba Sani’s education policies yielding positive outcomes’

Governor Uba Sani has enacted policies and programmes that are expanding access to education and providing conducive learning atmosphere, resulting in positive outcomes in the education sector.

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The Kaduna State Commissioner of Education, Muhammad Sani Bello who stated this at the quarterly ministerial press briefing which held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, said that the Governor’s policies are in line with his campaign promises.

Mr Bello, a professor, pointed out that the administration has constructed more schools and additional classrooms, as well as improved the quality of both learners and teachers since he assumed office.

‘’At the basic education level under SUBEB, more than 600 classrooms have been constructed since the beginning of this administration and quite a number are being renovated and the era of having students studying in an environment that is not conducive for learning has been averted,’’ he said.

According to him, 62 new secondary schools have been built under the AGILE project, promising that 50 new ones will be constructed before the second anniversary of this administration.

Mr Bello further disclosed that the six science secondary schools that are funded by the Islamic Development Bank are now up and running.

‘’That project started 16 years ago, but it was stalled and abandoned, it is this administration that completed the school and more than 2,000 students have been enrolled in those schools which are pure science schools,’’ he recalled.

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He argued that the policies of the present administration have manifested in good learning outcomes as can be attested to by the results of national examinations conducted by WAEC, NECO and NABTEB.

Mr Bello disclosed that the percentage of students who passed with five credits in those examinations before the coming of this administration was 54%, adding that the percentage is now 67%

The Commissioner further recalled that Governor Uba Sani’s commitment to education was evident in his first Executive Order, which reduced tuition fees in all state-owned tertiary institutions by 40%.

According to him, the reduction in school fees increased students enrollment at Kaduna State University (KASU), Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, and the College of Education GidanWaya.

‘’Before the arrival of this administration, many students have had to leave tertiary institutions in Kaduna State for tertiary institutions in neighbouring states. Some completely left school all because of the fee regime that was imposed by the last administration,’’ he added.

Mr Bello also disclosed that Kaduna State-owned tertiary institutions have introduced new courses that have passed through the Resource verification of regulatory agencies.

According to him, KASU courses were verified by the National University Commission (NUC), while those of Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic were accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), adding that the National Commission of Colleges of Education accredited the courses of the College of Education Gidan Waya.

The Commissioner also revealed that the Uba Sani administration is committed to reducing the number of out-of-school children by building more schools to expand access.

According to him, the Kaduna State initiative is the first of its kind and its is being supported by five Development Partners, including the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Education Above All (EAA), Save the Children International (SCI), and UNICEF.

The Commissioner further said that the Bureau of Statistics has mapped out Kaduna State and identified communities where there are no schools, adding that ‘’under that project we are going to have 102 new schools and over 200 existing schools will be renovated.’’

Mr Bello said that the aim of the project is to ensure that no child treks more than one kilometre in order to get access to a school.

He further said that the Special School for Gifted Children at Millennium City is 90% complete and the ‘’Tsangaya Bilingual Schools Project has been significantly expanded with UBEC-IsDB support. ‘’