The Bauchi government says it has rehabilitated and constructed 300 basic and post basic schools, to enhance access to free quality education in the state.
Jalaludeen Usman, Public Relations Officer, Bauchi State Ministry of Education, said this while presenting the scorecard of Gov. Bala Mohammed’s administration in the last one year.
He said Mohammed’s administration in collaboration with the African Development Bank, AfDB, constructed three new model primary schools in Mashema, Dagauda, and Yalwan Duguri.
Usman said the administration also deployed 2,000 newly recruited qualified teachers to basic schools while 1,000 others to senior secondary schools, as part of effort to address teacher shortage in the state.
The spokesman said the state government prioritised teacher development programmes, to expose them to modern teaching methodologies, to enhance delivery of quality education.
The gesture, he said, would provide the pupils and teachers with a dignified, safe and conducive learning environment.
He said the governor had approved the release of N793 million for the payment of the 2025 external examination fees for 25,410 indigent students in the state.
Mr Usman listed the examinations to include the National Examination Council, NECO; the National Business and Technical Examinations Board, NABTEB, the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies, NBAIS, and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB.
The state government, he said, initiated a comprehensive infrastructure development project, to revitalise the education sector in partnership with the Federal Government and development partners.
“The following initiatives have been fully completed to address the pressing challenges in educational infrastructure; provision of 18,000 Integrated Qur’an Education (IQE) temporary shades through the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme,” he said.
He said the administration provided 30,474 units of furniture, constructed 880 blocks of temporary shades for IQE, and 12 blocks of 4 classrooms under the UBEC Smart Model School project.
To address out-of-school children syndrome, Usman said the administration had completed mapping 21,000 non formal Qur’anic schools, to fast track their integration into the formal school system.
“The governor’s comprehensive approach to educational reform in the state reflects a deep commitment to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and quality education system.
“Through infrastructure development, financial support for examinations, teacher recruitment, and strategic partnerships, the administration is laying a solid foundation for the state’s educational advancement,” he said.
Also commenting, Ladi Mohammed, Project Coordinator, Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment, AGILE, said the governor has demonstrated great commitment towards advancing girls’ education in the state.
AGILE is being implemented with the support of the World Bank, to improve educational opportunities for adolescent girls.
She said the state government had embarked on construction of 42 new schools, comprising 21 junior and 21 senior secondary schools, equipped with modern facilities such as solar power, gender-separated toilets, and security measures.
According to Ms Mohammed, plans are underway to renovate 1,003 schools, to create a safe and conducive learning environment for the girl child.
The coordinator said that 835 junior and 168 senior secondary schools would be constructed under the project.
On his part, Usman Shall, Secretary, National Union of Bauchi State Students, NUBASS, commended the Mohammed administration over the disbursement of N945 scholarship to its members.
He said that payments had been made to many students studying in various institutions in the country.
“More than half of the money has been released by the state government, and some of our members have received their payments.
“However, due to the ongoing 2025 Hajj operations, the payment has been put on hold until after the Eid-el-Kabir celebration,” he said.
NAN
