Gov Sani Calls for Urgent Action on Out-of-School Children to Foster Inclusive Progress

A major barrier to attaining inclusive development, according to Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, is the large number of out-of-school children, including those with disabilities.

The governor described his administration’s initiatives to tackle the problem during his remarks at the Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) Start-Up Workshop on Monday.

Sani emphasised that the Kaduna State Government has made expanding access to high-quality education and filling in infrastructure gaps a top priority. He identified these as the two main issues facing the northern Nigerian education system.

“We set out to tackle the key challenges in the educational sector in Kaduna State in six ways: improving access, building and rehabilitating education infrastructure to ensure conducive learning environment, building capacity of teachers, harnessing the capacity of ICT to improve access, quality and management of education, prioritizing girl – child education, and strengthening security in the state,” he added.

According to Governor Sani, in order to meet the state’s expanding educational demands, his administration has constructed 62 new secondary schools, 39 junior and 23 senior across the three senatorial zones.

“Recognizing the continued demand for quality education, approval has been given for the construction of an additional 50 secondary schools across the state. The procurement process for this ambitious project is currently in its advanced stages.

“Upon completion, these new schools are expected to enrol over 100,000 students, further solidifying Kaduna State’s commitment to providing inclusive and accessible education for all,” he added.

“The administration has also constructed 2,326 new classrooms, renovated 707 classrooms, supplied 30,742 two-seater pupil’s furniture, provided 3,704 Teachers Furniture, and constructed 918 VIP Cubicle Toilets and 51 hand pump boreholes in schools across the state, he said.

In order to guarantee efficient teaching and learning, the governor added that 2,000 certified instructors have been hired and are awaiting assignment to these recently finished schools.

He claimed that the Kaduna state government has educated more than 26,000 teachers, head teachers, and school support officers in classroom management, reading and numeracy skills, school administration information systems, and basic computer skills. The government has also given 1,482,816 instructional materials.

The Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority (KSSQAA) has made notable progress in improving educational quality and fortifying the system.

Governor Uba Sani said: ‘’Kaduna State students’ performance improved significantly in the latest NECO SSCE results, with 67% of students achieving 5 credits and above (including Maths and English), compared to 54% in 2022.”

The governor bemoaned the fact that “our administration is making steady progress in improving infrastructure, teaching quality, and access to education. But we are still really concerned about the amount of kids who are not attending school.”

“We are determined to decisively tackle the problem on a larger scale and chart the path to a better future for our poor, vulnerable and underserved children,’’ he promised.

Governor Uba Sani expressed gratitude to international partners, particularly the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Education Above All, the Global Partnership for Education, and Save the Children International, for their support, direction, and encouragement.