By Abdullahi Yusuf

By some definitions,education is both the act of imparting knowledge to others and the act of receiving knowledge from someone else. Scholars have also defined education as the knowledge received through schooling or instruction.

Education plays a very important role in the life of a person as it trains,equips and prepares him or her to face and surmount the challenges of life.

This essential sector has, however, suffered neglect in Kano State,over the years, with primary schools and secondary schools sustaining dilapidated classrooms, dearth of furniture, teachers and instructional materials, among other challenges.

This apparent decay in the sector prompted the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to declare a State of Emergency to arrest the situation and restore the lost glory of education in the state.

While declaring the State of Emergency in the sector on June 8,2024, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf said inter alia:”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.

“With education being our number one priority, and believing that education is not only a public good, but also the greatest asset that any people can bequeath to its upcoming generation because no people can grow beyond the quality and standard of their education system, we must, therefore, take radical but practical measures to reposition education provisioning in our State.

“Nearly four out of every five classrooms in our primary and junior secondary schools are marred by dilapidation and disrepair, rendering them unsuitable for the noble pursuit of knowledge.

“Today, I stand before you to announce the declaration of a STATE OF EMERGENCY in the education sector. A state of emergency, as declared today, is an extraordinary legal measure that allows us to take some bold steps to address these critical challenges swiftly and effectively,” the governor said.

Five months after the commencement of the implementation of the State of Emergency in the all-important sector, members of the Correspondents’ chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ),Kano Council,set out on a tour of projects being executed by the State Government under the initiative,and their findings were quite revealing as they were educative.

The tour took the Reporters to many primary and junior secondary schools in whose premises a one-storey block of four classrooms each is being constructed across the 44 local government areas of the state to address the challenge of inadequate infrastructure bedeviling the education sector.

The Writers also monitored the provision of furniture and instructional materials as well as the deployment of more teachers as part of the efforts of the Government to respond to the challenges in the sector.

The schools visited included but not limited to Namadi Primary School,Unguwar Jakada in Gwale Local Government Area,Sabon Layi Special Primary School, Bichi,in Bichi Local Government Area, Dawakin Tofa Model Primary School in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area and Garin Dau Central Primary School in Warawa Local Government Area.

Others include: Hotoro South Special Primary School, Chula Central Primary School in Ajingi Local Government Area,Yelwa Model Primary School in Dala Local Government Area,Ungogo Special Primary School in Ungogo Local Government Area and Kumbotso Special Primary School in Kumbotso Local Government Area.

In virtually all these schools visited,it was observed that the implementation of the State of Emergency has taken shape with the construction of one-storey block of four classrooms reaching advanced level of completion, provision of more furniture and instructional materials and deployment of additional teaching staff.

Another notable development in the schools is the high level of attendance of pupils and teachers, with lessons going on steadily, which,it was gathered, was encouraged by the ongoing efforts of the State Government to improve the standard of education, especially as it was evident in the provision of furniture and teaching aides such as books and writing materials.

Some stakeholders interviewed appreciated Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for launching the education revival programme.

The stakeholders whom included Sarkin Fulani Dagacin(Village Head) of Kumbotso,
Aminu Iliyasu, described the measure as “bold and timely.”

“The ongoing implementation of State of Emergency in the education sector by the State Government ably led by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf,is a welcome development as it will address the decay in the sector,”Iliyasu said.

He particularly commended the construction of one-storey block of four classrooms for primary schools across the 44 local government areas of the state, as well as the provision of furniture and instructional materials and deployment of more teachers to primary schools in the state.

On his part, the Headmaster of Kumbotso Special Primary School, Shuaibu Idris, commended the State Government for its provision of more classrooms, furniture and teaching aides to the school.

The gesture,Idris said, would boost teaching and learning in the school,but appealed to the State Government to deploy more of such infrastructure to the school.

Similarly,the Headboy of Yelwa Model Primary School in Dala Local Government Area,Saminu Sunusi, and the Headgirl of the school,Hadiza Ahmed Sulaiman, lauded the introduction of the State of Emergency by the State Government,saying the initiative would boost school enrollment and improve the education sector.

In the same vein, Nura Yusuf,the Headboy of Ungogo Special Primary School in Ungogo Local Government Area,and his counterpart,the Headgirl of the school,Jamila Isa Suleiman,said they were encouraged by the provision of additional infrastructure, teachers and instructional materials under the initiative.

On his part,the Headmaster of Dawakin Tofa Modern Primary School in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area, Sabi’u Sunusi Idris, commended the State Government for providing furniture, teaching materials,water and toilet facilities in the school, so also Latifatu Jibrin Bichi and Abdulrahaman Idris, both parents of some pupils in the Sabon Layi Primary School,Bichi, who lauded the government for intervening in the education sector.

Like any government work, however,the implementation of the State of Emergency in the education sector is confronted by challenges.These include inadequate furniture, teaching and learning materials, toilet facilities as well as dearth of classrooms and teaching staff in the primary and secondary schools visited.

It was also observed that lack of perimeter fencing, inadequate number of security guards, near total absence of libraries and dispensaries were prevalent in the schools.

These challenges formed part of the testimonies of stakeholders met on ground, including Aminu Iliyasu,the village head of Kumbotso,who said that poverty and hunger are distracting primary school pupils in the area.

Iliyasu lamented that many of the pupils stray away from school and indulge in petty trading and other menial jobs because their parents cannot provide adequate care for them and other members of their respective families.

“Because of the prevailing poverty and hunger in the country, many of the pupils have to indulge in petty trading and other menial jobs so as to complement their families’ income,” he said.

In this situation,the village head said, the parents find it difficult to make any material contribution to the State Government’s efforts to revamp education.

Another major challenge facing the implementation of the State of Emergency as testified by some primary school pupils including the Headboy of Yelwa Model Primary School in Dala Local Government Area,Saminu Sunusi,and the
Headgirl of Ungogo Special Primary School, Jamila Isa Suleiman,is the inadequate number of toilet facilities in the schools.

The pupils complained that the existing toilets in their respective schools are grossly inadequate, forcing them to either do their sanitation at home or defecate in the open.

Dearth of furniture and inadequate number of teaching staff are also part of the major challenges as lamented by the Headmaster of Hotoro South Special Primary School, Habibu Sani, and his Sabon Layi Primary School, Bichi counterpart, Malam Auwal Baduku.

Both Headteachers said shortage of chairs and desks had compelled the pupils to be receiving their lessons on bare floor.

Similarly,the Headmasters said, the low number of teachers had compelled them to ration them between the multitudes of classrooms in their respective schools, which they pointed out,is inimical to the implementation of the State of Emergency programme.

Again,some other Headteachers complained that lack of perimeter fencing had exposed their schools to the menace of trespassers and thieves, which according to them, negate the State of Emergency initiative.

The findings of the tour clearly revealed that in spite of the challenges,the State of Emergency in the education sector as declared by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf,is working as planned.What is now needed is more vigour in its implementation as requested by the stakeholders.