The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Universal Basic Education

  • Kano invests N2.2b UBEC funds in classrooms

    Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for the construction of class room blocks across the 44 Local Government Area of the state which is to be financed with the N2.2 billion Kano state government/Universal Basic Education (UBE) matching grant for 2017 fiscal year.

    Ganduje, who performed the foundation laying at Darmanawa Special Primary School in Tarauni local government area, said: “Under the scheme, 61 two-storey blocks consisting six classrooms per block, including offices, would be constructed and furnished.  The project will accommodate an estimated 21, 960 pupils, as each classroom will contain 60 pupils.

    “Each block will have six classrooms. Each classroom will accommodate 60 pupils, so more opportunity will be provided for our teeming children to attend public schools enjoy our free education policy.”

    According to him, 20 out of the 60 new blocks to be constructed would be sited in Kano metropolis, while the remaining 41 would be spread across the rural areas of the state, in view of disparity in pupils’ density.

    “Presently, we have over three million children in public primary school, which is more than the population of some states. Classes, furniture and educational materials are not enough so it is our responsibility to do our best to address this challenge,” he stated.

    While revealing that arrangement was in top gear to access N2.4 billion UBE counterpart fund for the 2017 fiscal year, within the next two weeks, the governor assured that his administration would not relent in expanding access to education for all children in the state.

    He appealed to communities, wealthy individuals and corporate bodies to support the government’s stride in the education sector, by providing infrastructure and teaching/learning materials in public schools.

     

  • Ganduje seeks access to idle UBEC funds

    Ganduje seeks access to idle UBEC funds

    Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has appealed to the Federal Government to allow the state access Universal Basic Education (UBEC) funds of those states that have failed to access their share.

    He said Kano had been up to date in accessing its UBEC funds for numerous projects, but needed more in view of its enormous challenges in the sector to meet the needs of its teeming pupils.

    Unlike others states that were years behind, Ganduje said Kano had accessed UBEC funds up till 2016 and would soon provide matching grant for 2017.

    “At the moment, we have about three million children in school and about the same number out of school. So, obtaining the funds will help us revitalise the basic education sector, especially in view of the prevailing challenges facing us”, the governor said.

    The governor, who said this while receiving members of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education led by Dr Istifanus Dung Gyang at the Government House, said Kano being the most populous state in the country required more money to provide infrastructure, teaching aids and personnel in the basic education sub sector.

    He said that Kano was grappling with the challenge of millions of out- of-school children, pointing out however, that recent figures available to the government, have shown that two thirds of them are from neighbouring states and even some West African countries, brought to Kano for Qur’anic education.

    Ganduje told the visiting committee members that his administration had deployed enormous resources to boost the capacity of teachers, saying nearly 30, 000 primary teachers have so far been sponsored by the government for professional programmes in several tertiary institutions in Kano and Kaduna state.

    In his remarks, the leader of the team, Gyang acknowledged the state’s infrastructural deficit in the basic education sub-sector, stressing the need for increased budgetary intervention in the sector.

    He however, commended the state for accessing its UBEC grant up till 2016, urging it to make judicious use of the funds for the good of its citizens