The Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal has described education as the foundation of civilization, emphasizing that that was why he made it a top priority in his administration’s six-point ‘Smart Agenda’. He spoke during a ceremony held on Wednesday in Gusau, the state capital, to flag off the distribution of teaching and learning materials to 250 public primary and junior secondary schools throughout the state.
A statement issued by the spokesperson of the governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, revealed that the materials were provided by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Abuja and the UNICEF.
According to the statement, the items to be distributed are for 250 beneficiary schools. The items comprise 242,176 textbooks for different grades, 200 play materials for ECCDE, 25 ECCDE tables and chairs, 8,210 library materials, resources and 35 UNICEF (NLP) focus schools for solar power equipment.
During the flag-off ceremony, Mr Lawal stated that Zamfara as an educationally disadvantaged state in Nigeria, would continue to require support and engagement from national and international partners to advance education in the state.
He said, “I am delighted to be at this significant event of distributing reading materials to students in our basic education sub-sector. 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 basic and secondary education but also extends to 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”.
Furthermore, the governor disclosed measures 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.”
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