Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State says it is unfortunate that his predecessor, Abdullahi Ganduje, did not do much to provide a conducive environment for teaching and learning in public schools in the state.
Mr Yusuf, while declaring a state of emergency on education on Saturday, said such action left 4.7 million students sitting on bare floors in primary schools across the state.
“Over 4.7 million pupils are forced to sit on bare floors to learn, while 400 schools have only one teacher for all classes and subjects,” he said.
The governor said basic teaching tools were lacking, resources were inadequate, and teachers and students struggled with outdated equipment.
“Teachers struggle with outdated and insufficient basic learning equipment, while clean water and sanitation are lacking in many schools,” he said.
He described the previous administration’s appropriation of school premises for private commercial ventures as a flagrant breach of communal trust.
“Rather than building more classrooms and providing basic furniture in the schools, as well as hiring more teachers, the administration we took over from chose to butcher the land belonging to those schools, in some places demolishing classrooms to create space for shops.
“Those schools that they could not sell, they closed them down and got them vandalised. The encroachment of public school lands and the conversion of these vital institutions into private business premises is an affront to our communal values and a direct assault on our commitment to public education.
“This reckless appropriation of educational spaces for commercial use is unacceptable and must stopped immediately,” he said.
Mr Yusuf said that with the support of critical stakeholders such as the National Union of Teachers, his administration would achieve the delivery of quality education through its institutions.
He said his administration would deploy enough resources to tackle the challenges of out-of-school children in the state.
“My administration is committed to making education a top priority and a lasting legacy for future generations,” he said.