by Jubril Abdullahi

 

When Governor Nasir El-Rufai recently disclosed that his government would spend over N45 billion on education in his efforts to raise the standard of the sector in Kaduna state, it took little or no time for the people to witness the seriousness of intent behind that statement.

Beyond the fact that the sum is one of the highest in the country designated for state education and the wave of state-wide developments of several educational establishments, the general consensus among the people and narratives of social commentators have begun to find succor in a totally positive direction. This was not always the case.

Regarding the systemic demise of education which had proven to be a worrisome national issue, citing Government College, Kaduna, a social commentator once wrote “…perhaps it would have served better to allow Government College, Kaduna remain the military camp it was at the very beginning. On the other hand, it is better to have educational rather than military institutions. And, the fading glory of Government College, Kaduna is only reflective of the unceasing difficulties, which the entire educational sector is facing in Nigeria.”

If the past conditions in Government College, Kaduna could have been touted as a point of inference to the state of the entire educational sector in Nigeria, then it will be fair to admit that the newly reconstructed Government College, Kaduna during this present administration is indicative of commitment to growth as the school presently boasts decent classrooms, furniture, water and toilet facilities.

This is particularly symbolic as this spate of developments is not restricted to upgrading facilities only and certainly not Government College, Kaduna. Alhudahuda College Zaria and a few others have been beneficiaries of these investments; with more establishments also lined up for subsequent interventions.

Beyond facilities, the government has begun to utilise part of the fund to improve the capacity of teachers engaging in direct recruitment of 2,200 teachers to teach English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and ICT in secondary schools.

Coupled with the introduction of free feeding in primary schools that raised enrolment from 1.5 million pupils in June 2015 to 2.1 million pupils in September 2016, and from the data available at Kaduna State, enrollment should be hitting 3 million by December 2017.

The school feeding programme was aimed at enhancing the nutrition of primary school pupils and reducing the burden on parents. The governor has also kept his promise of expanded access to education by making the first nine years of basic schooling free.

“Our youth need quality education, accessible health care, good governance and jobs.” Governor El Rufai aptly captures the essence of these strides and is committed to doing more.

With well motivated and equipped teachers, then Kaduna might just be the yardstick for education in the North.

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Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija

Jubril Abdullahi, an old student of Government College, Kaduna, writes from Abuja