Kaduna boosts basic education with new infrastructure

The Kaduna State Government has inaugurated basic education infrastructure and other educational interventions across the state’s 23 local government areas as part of Governor Uba Sani’s human capital development agenda.

The inauguration was held at Sultan Bello Primary School, Unguwan Sarki, Kaduna North Local Government Area, and was performed on behalf of the governor by the Deputy Governor, Hadiza Balarabe.

Sani, in a speech delivered at the event, stressed the importance of basic education, saying the primary school level was where children acquired the foundations for reading, writing, numeracy, reasoning and social interaction.

“Primary education is where the foundations are laid. It is where a child learns to read, write, count, reason and relate with others,” he said.

The governor said discipline, curiosity and confidence also began at the primary school level, adding that a weak foundation could undermine a child’s subsequent learning.

“This is the very reason why this administration has treated investment in basic education as an investment in the future, rather than simply expenditure on infrastructure. The scale of what we are commissioning reflects this conviction,” he said.

Sani said his administration had constructed or rehabilitated 3,267 classrooms and built 2,232 toilet facilities, which he said would promote dignity and better hygiene, particularly for girls.

He added that 180 hand-pump boreholes had been provided to bring clean water closer to pupils and teachers and create healthier school environments.

The governor said 87 science laboratories and 29 computer centres had also been provided to equip pupils with knowledge and skills needed in a world increasingly driven by science, technology and innovation.

He said 81,540 sets of furniture had been supplied to ensure that pupils did not have to sit on bare floors while learning.

The governor added that project monitoring vehicles had been provided to strengthen supervision, quality assurance and accountability across the 23 local government areas.

“In Igabi, Zaria, Kubau and Giwa, four state-of-the-art bilingual education schools have been delivered in partnership with UBEC and the Islamic Development Bank, to provide 192 classrooms with capacity to cater for and impact 7,680 learners, particularly children who are out of school,” he said.

Sani said the administration was not only focused on improving schools for children already enrolled but was also working to bring more children into the education system.

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“Beyond infrastructure, the substance of learning matters. We have distributed 545,748 teaching and learning materials covering literacy, numeracy, science and other core subjects,” he said.

The governor disclosed that 33,137 teachers, head teachers and School Support Officers had received training in computer skills, classroom management, literacy, numeracy and school management, among other areas.

Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Education, Abubakar Sambo, said the state had instituted an annual Kaduna Best Teacher of the Year Award to recognise outstanding educators.

Sambo disclosed that the Sani administration had approved a review of the minimum wage for primary school teachers from N38,000 to N72,000.

He added that the government had resolved the long-standing NUT Endwell Scheme dispute by releasing N548m to retired teachers.

“Government has further approved a longer runway in service for our teaching workforce, extending the service period from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65,” he said.

The commissioner urged stakeholders to take responsibility for maintaining classrooms, toilets, boreholes and school furniture.

In his welcome address, the Executive Chairman of the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board, Mubarak Mohammed, said the inauguration at Sultan Bello Primary School was only the venue for the event, as the interventions were spread across the state’s 23 local government areas.

Mohammed said KADSUBEB had distributed 545,748 teaching and learning materials across schools.

He added that 1.1 million teaching and learning materials, 18 smart boards, 55 motorcycles and three golf carts were being inaugurated as part of the latest intervention.

He said the smart boards would support digital learning, while the vehicles and motorcycles would enable quality assurance officers to reach schools, observe classrooms, engage teachers and identify challenges.

“If we cannot see what is happening, we cannot properly improve it. This matters because providing resources is only one part of improving education. We must also know whether those resources are reaching the classroom and making a difference,” he said.