From Umar Danladi Ado, Sokoto
The Sokoto State Government has officially launched the 2024/2025 enrollment drive campaign, targeting all school-age children to enroll in public schools across the state. Governor Aliyu made the announcement on Thursday during the flag-off ceremony held at the Army Children Model Primary School, Kwannawa, Dange Shuni, Sokoto State.
Governor Aliyu emphasized that the campaign is a key strategy by the state government to identify out-of-school children, including those who have never been enrolled or those who have dropped out, and bring them back into the educational system.
The Governor further stressed the importance of involving community and religious leaders, as well as development partners, in mobilizing support and making schools more child-friendly. He called for the provision of life skills materials to make education more relevant and attractive to children.
Highlighting the state government’s previous initiatives, Governor Aliyu noted that in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education (FME), three new skill-based Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) were established in 2023. These schools, located in Sifawa, Wamakko, and Wurno, were officially commissioned in May 2024 by the then State Minister of Education, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu.
In addition to this, Governor Aliyu revealed that the state government had allocated N150 million as a state counterpart fund and N50 million for the take-off of the Agile program in Sokoto. He also mentioned that 147 classrooms had been constructed, 142 renovated, and 208 VIP toilets were installed, along with school fencing and boreholes, all aimed at providing a conducive learning environment.
Furthermore, training and retraining of teachers have been conducted in all 23 Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs) across the state to improve teaching standards and student performance. The government has also procured and distributed 9,852 sets of furniture for both students and teachers, in addition to providing other basic school supplies.
As part of its commitment to improving education, the Sokoto State Government has reintroduced and expanded the school feeding program, benefiting 23 boarding schools with 17,367 students, at an annual cost of N680,786,400. The government has also invested in sports facilities across public schools and is covering the costs of external examination fees for final-year students, regardless of their state of origin.
Governor Aliyu added that the state has employed and deployed 2,000 new teachers to secondary and nomadic schools across Sokoto. To ensure schools are well-maintained, a monthly imprest of N200,000 has been introduced for minor repairs and maintenance at secondary schools.
The Governor also announced that contracts have been awarded for the total renovation and remodeling of several secondary and primary schools, including the Command Military Schools at Giginya Barracks, Government Science Secondary School Yabo, Nagarta College, Sultan Abubakar College, Sokoto, Government Girls Secondary School Bodinga, GGSS Illela, Sheik Abubakar Gummi Memorial College, Hafsatu Ahmadu Bello Secondary School, Ahmadu Bello Academy, Sani Dingyadi Unity Secondary School, Sokoto Teachers College, and others. Primary schools, such as Marafa Dan Baba and Tudun Wada Model Primary Schools, are also being renovated.
Governor Aliyu reiterated his administration’s commitment to improving education in the state and urged parents and guardians to support the government by ensuring their children attend school regularly. He emphasized that achieving an educated society requires collective effort and called on Schools-Based Management Committees, community leaders, and religious leaders to help protect school infrastructure from vandalism.
“We must recognize that these structures are funded by taxpayers’ money, and we all must work together to protect them,” the Governor concluded.