Uba Sani administration has built over 600 classrooms since inception, says commissioner

Muhammad Sani Bello, the Kaduna commissioner for education, says the Uba Sani administration has constructed over 600 classrooms since its inception.

Bello was at the quarterly ministerial press briefing held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna.

Uba Sani assumed office as the governor of Kaduna state on May 29, 2023, succeeding Nasir El-Rufai.

Bello pointed out that the administration has constructed more schools and additional classrooms, as well as improved the quality of both learners and teachers since he assumed office.

He said the governor has enacted policies and programmes that are expanding access to education and providing a conducive learning atmosphere, resulting in positive outcomes in the education sector.

‘’At the basic education level under SUBEB, more than 600 classrooms have been constructed since the beginning of this administration,” the commissioner said.

“Quite a number are being renovated and the era of having students studying in an environment that is not conducive for learning has been averted.”

Backed by the World Bank in 2020, the federal ministry of education initiated the AGILE project to enhance secondary education opportunities for adolescent girls aged 10 to 20.

The project has been implemented in several Nigerian states, including Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Plateau, and Ekiti.

Bello said 62 new secondary schools have been built under the AGILE project, promising that 50 new ones will be constructed before the second anniversary of this administration.

The commissioner further disclosed that the six science secondary schools that are funded by the Islamic Development Bank are now up and running.

‘’That project started 16 years ago, but it was stalled and abandoned, it is this administration that completed the school and more than 2,000 students have been enrolled in those schools which are pure science schools,’’ he recalled.

Bello argued that the policies of the present administration have manifested in good learning outcomes as can be attested to by the results of national examinations conducted by WAEC, NECO and NABTEB.

He said the percentage of students who passed with five credits in those examinations before the coming of this administration was 54 per cent, adding that the percentage is now 67 per cent.

The commissioner said Uba Sani’s commitment to education was evident in his first executive order, which reduced tuition fees in all state-owned tertiary institutions by 40 per cent.

Bello revealed that the Uba Sani plans to reduce the number of out-of-school children by building more schools to expand access.

He said the initiative is being supported by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Education Above All (EAA), Save the Children International (SCI), and UNICEF.

The commissioner said that the bureau of statistics has mapped out Kaduna state and identified communities where there are no schools.

“Under that project, we are going to have 102 new schools and over 200 existing schools will be renovated,” he said.

Bello said that the project aims to ensure that no child treks more than one kilometre to get access to a school.

He said the Special School for Gifted Children at Millennium City is 90 per cent complete and the Tsangaya Bilingual Schools Project has been significantly expanded with UBEC-IsDB support.