Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, yesterday officially declared a state of emergency on education in the state.
Yusuf spoke during the occasion of the declaration of state of emergency on education in Kano State.
The government also announced the employment of 5,632 Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) teachers and reopening of boarding schools closed down by the immediate past governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
With theme as, ‘Rebuilding hope through quality education in Kano State’, it also stated that the BESDA programme – a World Bank initiative – aims to create equitable access for out-of-school children in Nigeria and improve literacy in focus states.
Speaking during the event, Governor Yusuf said, “As your elected governor, entrusted with the solemn responsibility of steering our state towards prosperity and progress, I cannot ignore the glaring reality that confronts us in the realm of education, and with education being our number one priority.
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“Our beloved state is witnessing an alarming proliferation of out-of-school children, (with the current figure standing at 989,234 children of both genders), a situation that threatens to rob an entire generation of their right to education and a brighter future.
“The statistics are grim and the faces of these children, devoid of the promise of learning, haunt us as a collective failure.”
Enemies of Kano distracted govt for one year – Kwankwaso
Meanwhile, the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has expressed concern over how, he said, the opposition distracted the Kano State Government for one year.
He said, “Let me start by congratulating you on this historic day, the day the governor is declaring a state of emergency on education. For those who are aware that the governor has been working from day one, you can see his footprints everywhere across the state.
“Even though the governor was distracted for about one year, immediately after the election, enemies of the state took him to court – tribunal, Appeal Court to Supreme Court. We have seen what happened even when they knew that there was no need to go to any court or tribunal. Everybody knew that he won his election.
“Even the enemies were saying that they wanted to take it by force because they believed they have a government. Despite all that, the governor has been working obstacle after obstacle. We don’t know what is happening and what has happened in this state but the governor is moving.