By Usman Aliyu
It is a universal truth that the foundation of every state is the education of its youth. However, the incessant attacks on public schools in the North East by Boko Haram have eroded public confidence on the value of western education. In view of this induced fear many have ignored Churchill’s immortal words; ‘There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies’. Education is the necessary milk that community and any responsible government must endeavour to put into its citizens because the value of any society is measured on the enlightenment of its collective citizenry.
It is on this premise we must commend the effort of Abubakar Sani Bello the Governor of Niger State who has fenced the school at Maja in Suleja local Government area as a model to be replicated in all publics schools in the state, to provide secure learning environment for students. This single action has not only boosted the confidence of the people of Niger state to send their kids and wards back to school but strengthened belief on the governor who is committed on formulating effective policies and implementation for the benefit of the masses. Finally, what the fencing of the school actually demonstrates is that Bello is a proactive governor with interest of the masses at heart.
The governor since assuming office has touched every sector of the economy with all seriousness. His love for the youths and desire for them to acquire education prompted the decision to prioritise education.
Governor Bello, who is very versed in ICT, decided to make training of students in ICT a must, it’s for this he decided to wade into conflict between the state National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the state government regarding an arrangement made by the immediate past administration in the state to contribute 40% for the purchase of Tablets to aid teaching and the NUT to contribute 60%,NUT fulfilled her own part, while the previous administration in its usual manner relent to fulfil her own side of the agreement, Gov Bello, who view government as a continue process, decided to intervene with a promise to the teachers that his government will fulfil the promise made by the previous government.
The government has also provided ICT facilities to institutions across the state. Governor Bello, on his assumption in office took a tour of most primary and secondary schools in the state, and what he saw was an eye sore, from dilapidated classrooms, lack of laboratories and where there is one, there are no equipment, the classrooms are empty, no furniture, the students seats on the floor, little or no teaching aid. The governor swung into action to provide the needed materials, equipped the laboratories in order to make learning easier for pupils and students and also to make teaching very easy for the teachers.
More than 80% of the population of the state are farmers, they are mostly peasant farmers with little or no education on agriculture, luckily, the state has a College of Agriculture in Mokwa, an institution meant to educate the students on better system of agriculture, unfortunately, the school lack facilities and it’s been underfunded, the governor in a visit to the institution of recent promised to increase funding to the school, also to provide learning facilities to the school in order for the institution to graduate students who will help improve the practice of farming cultivation.
There is a saying that teachers’ rewards are in heaven, but the governor said the teachers will start reaping their rewards here, that teachers’ suffering, living in abject poverty would soon be a thing of the past, as his government has mapped out a blueprint to improve the welfare of the teachers, teachers’ salaries would be paid when due, they will be provided with loans, such as motorcycle and car loans to ease their movement.
When this government came on board, there were a lot of rumours that the government of Bello will reverse the upgrading of Niger state College of Education, Minna to a university, the upgrading which was started by the previous administration of Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, Governor Bello debunked the rumours and made promise to the people of the state that upgrading of the college of Education to an university will continue in order to accommodate thousands of Nigerlites who are having difficulty gaining admission into other tertiary institutions.
He believed having a state university of education would strengthen the output and quality of teachers in the state.
The other state university named after General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida located in Lapai was established by the administration of Engineer Abdulkadir Abdullahi Kure, the institution has graduated thousands of students, Gov Bello,has increased funding to the institution and has also promised and started completing the abandoned projects in the school.
Efforts being made by Abubakar Sani Bello to tackle educational decay in the society are really a blessing to Niger state and soon, the youths and people of the state will start enjoying the benefits of these policies.
Aliyu wrote from Kagara, Niger state