From Umar Danladi Ado, Sokoto
The Sokoto State Government has earmarked more than N6 billion for the construction of three mega schools, one in each senatorial district, to address overcrowding and improve access to quality education.
The Chairman of the Sokoto State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Umaru Nagwari Tambuwal, disclosed this to journalists in Sokoto during a briefing to mark the third anniversary of Governor Ahmad Aliyu’s administration.
Tambuwal said the mega schools were conceived by Governor Aliyu following study tours to Borno, Yobe and Kaduna states.
According to him, each school will have 60 classrooms, residential facilities for the principal, vice principal and headmaster, a playground, shopping complex, ICT centre and medical facility.
“Each school will cost more than N2 billion. That is roughly N6 billion minimum. And we have the money,” he said.
The SUBEB Chairman said the schools would help the state improve its pupil-teacher ratio, noting that some schools currently have as many as 85 pupils per teacher, compared with the internationally accepted standard of 25 pupils per teacher.
He said the board was conducting mapping exercises to determine the number of schools, teachers, their qualifications and enrolment figures in order to identify existing gaps.
Tambuwal added that SUBEB had submitted its report and cost estimates to the governor, who had approved the project.
“We are going to award the contracts either this week or next week. In the next one or two weeks, the contractors will mobilise to the sites,” he said.
On teacher recruitment, Tambuwal said SUBEB was working with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to recruit more teachers.
He said Governor Aliyu had earlier approved the recruitment of 3,000 teachers for higher education and the Teachers’ Service Board, and had now approved another recruitment exercise for basic education.
He disclosed that Sokoto currently has 2,124 primary schools and 308 junior secondary schools, with about 24,000 teachers.
On insecurity, Tambuwal said Governor Aliyu had spent between N16 billion and N17 billion on security support, including vehicles and armoured personnel carriers.
He expressed optimism that improved security would enable all schools currently closed due to insecurity to resume academic activities.