Kaduna state governor, Uba Sani, Tuesday said the large number of out -of- school children, including those with disabilities, is a significant challenge to inclusive development.
The governor who stated this while declaring the Reaching Out-of-School Children(ROOSC) Start Up Workshop Monday, listed what his administration has been doing to tackle the problem.
He said Kaduna the state government has identified access to quality education )and provision of infrastructure as key challenges of the education sector in the northern states of Nigeria.
‘’We set out to tackle the key challenges in the educational sector in Kaduna state in six ways: improving access, building and rehabilitating education infrastructure to ensure conducive learning environment, building capacity of teachers, harnessing the capacity of ICT to improve access, quality and management of education, prioritising girl – child education, and strengthening security in the state,’’ he added.
Governor Sani said his administration has built 62 new secondary schools, comprising 39 Junior and 23 Senior Secondary Schools, across the three Senatorial zones to cater to the growing educational needs of the state.
‘’Recognising the continued demand for quality education, approval has been given for the construction of an additional 50 secondary schools across the state. The procurement process for this ambitious project is currently in its advanced stages.
‘’Upon completion, these new schools are expected to enrol over 100,000 students, further solidifying Kaduna state’s commitment to providing inclusive and accessible education for all,’’ he added.
The administration has also constructed 2,326 new classrooms, renovated 707 classrooms, supplied 30,742 two-seater pupil’s furniture, provided 3,704 Teachers Furniture, and constructed 918 VIP cubicle toilets and 51 hand pump boreholes in schools across the state, he said.
The governor also said 2,000 qualified teachers have been recruited, awaiting deployment to newly completed schools in order to ensure effective teaching and learning.
He said Kaduna state government has distributed 1,482,816 instructional materials, trained over 26,000 teachers, head teachers, and school support officers on basic computer skills, classroom management, literacy and numeracy skills and school management information systems.