The Gombe government says the reforms in the education sector has made public schools safe and more attractive to residents of the state.
The Commissioner for Education, Aishatu Maigari stated this on the sidelines of a stakeholders’ meeting on the establishment and implementation of School-based Management Committee, SBMC and Safe School Initiative, SSI, on Thursday in Gombe.
She said the education sector witnessed massive investments, improved infrastructure, quality of teaching and service delivery.
Mrs Maigari said the education reforms initiated by the Inuwa Yahaya administration attracted development partners to support the ongoing development programmes.
She said the state government had built five mega schools, constructed and renovated over 1,500 classrooms as well as payment of external examination fees to indigent students.
“We have reached the state where parents are taking their children to public schools, this is because of what we have achieved.
“We are seeing a lot of them (pupils/students) coming to public schools because they have seen what we have put in terms of investment in the mega schools.
“With what we are going to put for sustainability, it is going to attract people from outside. Those who do not believe in public schools, will now start believing that public schools are schools you can invest your child’s future in,” she said.
On security, Mrs Maigari said the schools have been enjoying peace, adding the state government had adopted proactive measures through training of teachers on school safety and response mechanism in emergencies.
According to her, the government will leverage the stakeholders’ engagement to identify gaps and address it, to ensure that the schools are safe for learning.
She said the domestication of the SBMC culminated in the establishment of Gombe State Senior Secondary Education Board.
Addressing the participants, Iyela Ajayi, Executive Secretary, National Senior Secondary Education Commission, NSSEC, tasked them to come up with genuine recommendations.
He said that such recommendations would help improve on the safety of schools in the state.
Represented by Halima Alhassan, Department of Teachers Development and International Partnership, NSSEC, Ajayi said that effective implementation of the SBMC and SSI would strengthen Nigeria’s education system.
He said the initiatives would fast track establishment of a thriving educational system anchored on safety, inclusivity and quality.
(NAN)
