By Hamidu Sabo
Katsina
Government at all levels have been urged to invest heavily in education to make the younger generation responsible leaders of tomorrow.
Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) made the call at the 2017 annual lecture of the Barewa Old Boys Association (BOBA) held in Katsina.
General Gowon, who is the chairman Board of Trustees of the association, observed that the level of development of any society could not exceed the level of education of its children, and appealed to leaders at all levels to accord priority to the sector.
In his speech at the occasion, Governor Aminu Bello Masari pointed out that his administration has accorded education the highest priority since his assumption in office two years ago.
He explained that, so far, his administration has renovated hundreds of schools across the state, built and equipped new ones.
The governor noted that his administration has also employed primary and secondary school teachers and settled three months’ promotion arrears of primary school teachers in the state who were owed since 2013.
He also explained that directors, who were redundant in state and local government education departments were also redeployed to classrooms to enhance manpower.
Masari urged the private sector, non-governmental organisations and well meaning indigenes of the state to also invest in public education to better the life of the younger generation.
Earlier in a dissertation, the guest lecturer, Prof Jibril Ibrahim, noted that over 13 million children in the country were out of school, and that 80 per cent of them were in the northern part of the country.
He warned that if nothing was done about the high number of out of school children, it could lead to serious security challenges in the near future.
