Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara has expressed concern over what he described as the alarming condition of public schools in the state.
Mr Lawal, who spoke shortly after he visited some schools in Gusau Local Government Area on Wednesday, described the situation as very worrisome.
The governor was accompanied by the overseeing Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Abdulmalik Gajam, and other government officials.
He said that many of the facilities were in dire need of rehabilitation, while some others needed a total overhaul due to years of decay.
According to the governor, if the condition of some schools within the state capital is this alarming, the situation in rural areas where there is little visibility could be even worse.
“The condition of some of the schools we visited is unacceptable. If this is what we see in the state capital, then the situation in rural areas, which are less visible, could be more serious,” he said.
Mr Lawal emphasised the importance of education, describing it as the backbone of society, stressing that no meaningful development would be achieved without a strong educational foundation.
The governor said the state government had approved the selection of 20 schools across the state for comprehensive upgrading within four months.
According to him, the intervention will involve complete rehabilitation of infrastructure, provision of necessary learning materials, and training of teachers to improve the quality of education.
He said that the state government established a committee under the Ministry of Education to assess challenges and develop a comprehensive action plan.
“We have set up a committee to go around, assess the situation, and come up with practical solutions. Implementation will begin immediately because the issues we have seen require urgent attention,” he said.
Mr Lawal urged teachers, students, and communities to take ownership of public school facilities, noting that maintaining public infrastructure “is a shared responsibility”.
NAN reports that the schools visited included GGDSS Birnin Ruwa, GGDSS Galadima (Gidan Roba), GGDSS Tsunami, GGDSS Sarkin Kudu, and GGDSS Unguwar Zabarma.
Meanwhile, the Coordinator of the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) in Zamfara, Hajiya Saadatu Abdu Gusau, called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to tackle the challenges in the education sector.
She noted that the decline in education in the state is a long-standing issue that required collective efforts to address.
“The decay in the education sector did not start today. It has been there for years, even over a decade. Addressing it requires all hands to be on deck — not just the government, but communities, students, and all stakeholders,” she said.
She said that the state’s declaration of a state of emergency in education was not new, noting that the policies and strategies were in place but needed to be strengthened for effective implementation.
“There are existing policies and systems. What is important now is to build on them and ensure they are effectively implemented for meaningful impact,” she said.
Mr Lawal also inspected the Gusau Water Works and Water Board as part of efforts to address other critical infrastructure challenges in the state.
He assured that plans were underway to overhaul the water supply system in phases.
NAN
