Bauchi State governor, Bala Muhammed, has admitted that his administration failed in educational sector.
The governor said his administration failed to deliver quality school building structures for educational purpose.
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Mohammed accepted his failure at an opening meeting of education sector stakeholders yesterday, saying some agencies in charge of education in the state —Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) — have succeeded in destroying his efforts of ensuring the education sector achieve more than it was in 2019.
The meeting which was held at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, had in attendance the SUBEB Management, Ministry of Education, LGEA secretaries and LGA caretaker chairmen.
He said his attention was drawn to some certain locations where renovations are stalling.
He said: “I was thinking loudly when I discussed with a few commissioners that of Education, Local Government Affairs and the Chief of Staff that we need to focus on education.
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“My attention was drawn to some areas where, completely, SUBEB is not doing anything after spending so many years there and bragging that we have renovated over 5,000 classrooms.”
Lamenting further, Mohammed revealed he had visited some schools where he found some of the building structures in a dilapidating situation. He added that the effort of his administration is not encouraging.
“There are mega schools that have been left untouched, unenumerated, unaccess, they were not even brought forward by the Agency for renovation. I think the quality of our work is not something to go home with because I have visited those Schools myself and the roofs are licking or blown off.
“The quality of supervision by SUBEB is appalling, so you have the opportunity to change. I have done my best but, certainly, there is no supervision, no quality control, it has been business as usual,” he lamented.
The governor added that members of the educational sector are doing nothing but enriching themselves. He cited an example with a school located in Dumi where more than 15 classes are yet to be touched.
His words: “I am highly disappointed with all managers in the sector, from my humble self, the SSG that is supervising SUBEB, the Ministry of Education and the LGAs. We have not done well in that sector.
“You are not doing anything, it is just eye service and making money, that is all and I will not allow this to continue, no, it must not continue. In Dumi here, a few kilometers from here, an old school, older than some of the towns in Bauchi with about 20 classes is left abandoned. Our pupils are sitting on the mats, all the roofs have been blown off.”
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In August, Korijo Umar, the director, Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board, revealed that, 79 schools in Misau Local Government Area of Bauchi State have only one teacher teaching all subject. He added that in the Bauchi metropolis there are classes with more 220 pupils with only a teacher teaching all subjects.
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WikkiTimes had investigated and documented some dilapidated schools in Bauchi State.
At Mararaba Liman Katagum Nomadic Primary School in Bauchi LGA, lack of learning materials and decaying structures frustrate pupils, including their teachers.
The pupils receive lessons on bare floors and often vacate the school when it rains. WikkiTimes gathered that there are 1,000 pupils who are being taught by six teachers in four classrooms.
The school has 580 male pupils and 420 female counterparts spread across nursery one to primary six.
The situation is not different in Toro LGA as well as Bauchi metropolis. At least two government-owned schools were found in dilapidating conditions in Bauchi metropolis and Toro Local Government Area.
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Inside the schools — Government Day Secondary School, Narabi, Toro and Gwallameji Primary School, in Bauchi city — students do not only receive lessons under rotten roofs but also on bare floors.
The same situation worries residents of Gabchyari in Darazo Local Government Area who lamented shortage of teachers at the only primary and junior secondary schools in their community.
The locals said only three teachers attend to about 350 students in the schools.
In Katagum LGA, weak system of supervision strengthened teachers and headmasters in many rural schools to operate an epileptic education system. They determine when children learn and when to open schools.
Many elementary schools in the suburbs are left to the care of volunteer teachers whose motivation to teach varies. WikkiTimes with support from TheICIR documented the story here.
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Despite the embarrassing system, the governor claimed tremendous achievements in the sector. He went ahead to lie about progress in terms of candidates sitting for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) in his state.
“It is gratifying to note that our reform measures in education are hitting the right target. As WAEC records show, Bauchi State recorded a remarkable increase in the percentage of candidates with five credits and above from 37.4 per cent in 2019 when we took the mantle of leadership, to 65.5 per cent and 68 per cent in 2020 and 2021 respectively,” the governed had said in his inauguration speech after he was re-elected.
WikkiTimes checked his claim and presented the fact here.
