Some parents and teachers in Kano State, have appealed to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, to ensure effective implementation of his laudable policies on education in the state.
They worried that right now inadequate furniture, teaching and learning materials, toilet facilities as well as dearth of classrooms and teaching staff in primary and secondary schools across the state, are the major areas the State of Emergency in Education should give more priority to, for the program to achieve the desired results.
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They told newsmen on Tuesday who were on an assessment tour of projects executed by the state ministry of education under the State of Emergency declared in the state’s education sector, that, “Yes there are interventions on building of new two story classes and some teaching materials but it is not enough”.
A Headmaster of Hotoro South Special Primary School in Nasarawa Local Government Area, Habibu Sani, called for the general renovation of his school in order to give it a facelift and make it more conducive for teaching and learning.
Sani also urged the state government to provide furniture for the 1,432 pupils of the school most of whom, he said, are receiving lessons on bare floor.
“As you can see, most of the classrooms of this school don’t have desks and chairs which compelled the pupils to receive their lessons on bare floor.
“So, I am appealing to the government to, under the ongoing State of Emergency declared in the education sector, provide furniture for the pupils, to enable them to receive their lessons comfortably,” he said.
Similarly, the Headmaster called on the government to post more teachers to the school so as to enhance its present ratio of two classrooms to one teacher.
Also the Headmaster of Sabon Layi Primary School, Bichi in Bichi Local Government Area, Malam Auwal Baduku, lamented the absence of some facilities necessary for conducive teaching and learning in the school.
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According to Baduku, the school virtually lacks furniture as most of the 1,764 pupils receive lessons on bare floor and with only four toilets shared between the teachers and the pupils.
He also disclosed that the school is facing acute shortage of teachers as the only 39 teaching staff (both permanent and casual) handle 18 classrooms on the basis of one teacher per three classrooms.
He appealed to the state government to address these challenges for the successful implementation of the State of Emergency on the education sector.
Another Headmaster, Sabi’u Idris of Dawakin Tofa Model Primary School in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area, however, commended the State Government for providing furniture, teaching materials, water and toilet facilities in the school.
He also bemoaned the absence of security in the school, saying that with its 1,212 students and 32 teachers, the school has no perimeter fence and security guards.
These, he said, exposed the schools to thieves who have been stealing its valuables.
On their part, Mrs Latifatu Jibrin Bichi and Abdulrahaman Idris, both parents of some pupils in the Sabon Layi Primary School, Bichi, commended the government for the intervention in the education sector but called for provision of uniforms, furniture, instructional materials, more teachers and toilet facilities to the school.
“Due to lack of furniture in the school, our children sit on mats and other materials to receive lessons, making the situation unconducive for learning,” they said.
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Usman Haladu, a student of Government Junior Secondary School, Dawakin Tofa, asked the state government to construct more toilet facilities and post more teachers to his school.
Haladu said although the school has furniture and instructional materials, it has only one toilet facility which is being used by the female students of the school while the male students have to go to the bush to defecate.
