Stakeholders in the education sector met in Kano State on Monday 26th August, 2019 for the introduction of the School-Based Management Committee-School Improvement Programme, (SBMC-SIP) a federal government programme aimed at improving the standard of basic education in the country.
The event, which took place at Coronation Hall, Government House in Kano, was attended by various government top officials from both state and federal ministries of education, school administrators, academics and other stakeholders in the education sector.
During the introduction of the programme in Kano State, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who was represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Mr Sunny Echono, said that the programme was an initiative that would not only address national aspirations and meet global expectations through the provision of qualitative education free of charge to all children of school age, but also improve the condition of about 2,505 schools this year.
He, however, said implementation experiences had shown that the delivery of basic education in the country is being faced with daunting challenges that militate against Nigerian’s drive towards meeting her developmental goals and global expectations.
He added that federal government was aware that inadequate funding is at the center of the challenges facing the entire education sector. He further explained that government’s aim was to encourage leaders at various levels to participate in the activities of education.
“We want each leader to adopt a school in his domain and improve its standard. This would reduce the security challenges because by the time we slash the number of out-of-school children in our communities, crimes would certainly reduce,” he explained.
On his part, Kano state Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said the programme would give public schools a new life through provision of conducive learning atmosphere, urging the school administrators to remain steadfast and committed to the programme.
Governor Ganduje, who assured his support to the programme, said his administration had since initiated education promotion committees with a view to promoting basic education in the state.
He said, “This programme would surely address challenges associated with out-of-school children, school enrolment and quality of teachers as well as promote partnership among stakeholders in the education sector.”
