The Katsina State Committee on Education set up by the government has presented its report which raised some damning revelations about the deplorable condition of primary schools across the state.
Government had constituted the committee in a move to get the true picture of what is obtainable at the basic level of education with a view to finding ways of improving the education sector.
The report presented by the chairman, Dr Badamasi Charanci, uncovered several shortcomings that urgently need to be addressed to move the sector forward.
According to the report, 2,262 primary schools across the state were used for the baseline data study in which 50 per cent of them lacked toilets as students and teachers resort to open defection.
A shortfall of furniture in the report was seen all over as about 622,390 pupils were recorded to have no chairs and desks; they sat on bare floors to take lessons. In Katsina town alone, 47,000 pupils sit on the floors and about 794 of the schools were in pitiful condition, while 1,319 needed minor repairs.
Additional 7,554 teachers are urgently needed to be employed to meet the standard of three classrooms per five teachers. Already, there are 19,833 primary school teachers out of which 4,996 are females.
There is also the need for additional 3,000 classrooms to accommodate the large number of pupils in both urban and rural areas.
A visit to one of the schools in Faskari Local Government revealed overcrowded classrooms which makes teaching and learning frustrating. Some classes that should not have more than 35 pupils had close to 80 with majority sitting on floors while as many as five pupils sit on benches meant for three pupils.
The appalling situation can be seen in virtually all the schools across the state. Some experts said nothing tangible can be achieved in the education sector giving the gloomy picture presented by the report which has made basic primary education difficult to acquire. There was poor ergonomic design of classroom chairs in most schools.
According to the coordinator of Partnership for the Development of Education in the state Zakari Ya’u Doka, primary education had suffered enough over time, saying that there was a serious neglect of primary schools by the government.
An educationist, Dr Muhammad Kado, said the education sector must be rejuvenated to meet global requirement and the effort being made by government in that direction was laudable.
According to him “we at the private sector are fully in support of these motives, well meaning stride considering what quality education means to any form of human development.
Governor Aminu Masari said Katsina State, which led in the Northern region in terms of education, has over the years lost that status and efforts must be made to move the state forward.
He said recent students’ results released by examination bodies including WAEC, NECO and JAMB were so poor and not acceptable.
“We are not here to play politics; the sorry state of education in Katsina is beyond partisan politics if we are serious to ensure total revival of the sector,” he said.
Some of the interim measures embarked on by the government to address the problems include; engagement of the services of department of education of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (ABU) for training of teachers, improved welfare packages like car, housing loans and special headmaster’s holiday.
Source:Daily Trust
Comments
Post a Comment