*Says education is bedrock of civilisation
By IBRAHIM KANOMA, Gusau
The Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Dauda Lawal, has emphasised that education is a top priority of his Six Smart Agenda as, according to the state chief executive, it is the foundation of civilisation.
The governor made this emphasis at a ceremony held in Gusau on Wednesday, where he flagged off the distribution of teaching and learning materials to 250 public primary and junior secondary schools throughout the state.
The teaching and learning materials meant for 250 schools in Zamfara State, on display in Gusau, on Wednesday February 28, 2024.
The materials were provided by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Abuja and UNICEF Sokoto Area Office.
The items to be distributed are for 250 beneficiary schools, which comprise 242,176 textbooks for different grades, 200 play materials for ECCDE, 25 ECCDE tables & Chairs, 8,210 Library materials resources and 35 UNICEF (NLP) focus schools for solar power equipment.
During the flag-off ceremony, Governor Lawal stated that Zamfara is an educationally disadvantaged state in Nigeria and will 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 subsector. This gesture is one of the many interventions that Zamfara State benefits from.”
The governor said “we are overhauling sixty (60) secondary schools across the state under the World Bank Assisted Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA). Each local government area has six (6) secondary schools undergoing renovation, while the state capital, Gusau, has eight (8).
“The education state of emergency declared in the state is not limited to only basic and secondary education but also 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.”
He disclosed measures that 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,” he said.
In his welcome address, the Executive Chairman of Zamfara State Universal Primary Education Board, Professor Nasiru Garba Anka, pledgeed to cooperate with any NGO or international donor agency that is willing to provide the needed technical and financial assistance to revamp educational sector in the state.
He thanked the UBEC headquarters and UNICEF for their kind gesture and assured that the materials provided would be properly utilised for upliftment of education in the state.
