Kano holds conference to address decay in education sector
By: Ahmed Aminu, Dutse
A conference on addressing challenges in the education sector, including the menace of out-of-school children will hold in Kano on Wednesday.
The conference is organised by Kano State Government with the support of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.
This was contained in a press statement made available to The Syndicate by the Chairman of Conference Planning Committee, and Special Adviser to Kano State Governor, Alhaji Tajuddeen Gambo, on Friday.
He said that the conference, with the theme “Repositioning Education in Kano State: Navigating the Path to Excellence”, will hold on July 10 and July 11.
“The education sector in Kano State, like many parts of Nigeria, faces critical issues that hinder its progress.
“Currently, there are over 9 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, and Kano State contributes significantly to this figure as the most populous northern state of Nigeria, hence, tackling challenges in Kano is essential to the ‘Education for Renewed Hope Agenda,” he added.
Alhaji Tajuddeen said it was designed to “address critical challenges on education access and equity, chart a reform pathway and foster partnerships in transforming education in the state.
“During the two-day event, stakeholders will work together to identify sustainable and scalable solutions that will reposition and improve the education sector in Kano State, ensuring sustainable access to quality education for all”.
He said leaders of thought, political actors, diplomats, educators, private sector players, advocates and policymakers will rub minds and come up with measures to address significant number of the challenges of the education sector in Kano state.
According to him, the conference is a demonstration of the commitment of the government to find solutions to the problems.
“In recent times, the Kano State Government has demonstrated willingness to tackle educational challenges head on.
“Earlier in June, the Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, declared a state of emergency in the education sector due to the significant decay in both educational quality and infrastructure.
“Our administration has commenced a total overhaul, focusing on academic and infrastructure development”, he added.
He said the infrastructure development would involve extensive renovation of all primary and junior secondary schools in the state.
The confrence chairman added that the government would begin issuing soft loan to teachers, and implement new initiatives to promote girl-child education.
Alhaji Tajuddeen said that the governor had since approved funds for the renovation of classrooms and construction of new ones across the 44 local government areas of the state.
“The Kano aspiration is an ambitious roadmap to kickstart the journey to quality and accessible education in the state.
“Through the proposed conference, the government will be creating a platform for technical deliberations on education access, quality, and equity in the state,” he said.
