From Ibrahim Sidi Mohammed, in Gusau
The Zamfara State Government has, through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, constituted a state of emergency implementation Committee which subsequently flagged off an Intensive 14-day meeting with all stakeholders for immediate action.
Speaking during the meeting, the Commissioner of education, hon. Abdulmalik Garba Gajam, said the come-together meeting with all the stakeholders in education is the outcome of the recent directive given by the state governor that problems in the sector should be identified and come up with resolutions.
According to Gajam, parts of the assignment given to the Committee were to ensure building infrastructures that would give adequate protection of students and teachers across all schools in the state capable of assisting and guiding security personnel deliver their primary duties against security challenges.
Another area for the Committee to pay more attention is creation of access to education especially as the state has an alarming number of out-of-school-children with a collective study on the parents’ and their children’s demands and problems, as well as how the state government would act to overcome them.
Similarly, hon. Gajam further revealed that, it was learnt an alarming number of both teachers and the students are lacking transportation. This remained a point of deliberations at the meeting with a view to develop an idea out of which the state government could make adequate provision to make the school’s attendance easier in the state.
He reiterated the state government commitments towards providing improved education through checks on gaps in the teaching profession, saying that, “The Committee has been charged to make findings in the number of teachers, their ability to deliver what were expected of them in terms of professionalism”.
“And for schools that emerged under Red locations as marked by security agencies, decision would be taken on whether they will relocate to areas marked as Green or Yellow by the state government defending what appeared to be counselled by the security experts for the safety of teachers and students”, hon. Gajam has stressed.
