“We have successfully reduces out of school children in Bauchi state” – Governor Bala.

By Mubarak Aliyu Kobi, Bauchi 

Bauchi State Government says it has successfully reduced the number of out of school children in the state from 2.3 Million to just about 7 Hundred thousand children in 2023.

The state governor Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed stated this while declaring open, a two day State Summit on education.

The Summit with a theme “Improving access and quality education in Bauchi state” is taking place at the Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar Hajj camp and is focusing on ways to reduce the rate of out of school children, improving access and inclusiveness to quality education in the state.

Speaking at the occasion, Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed said due to the economic challenges faced by parents, his administration has restored and increased scholarships for Bauchi State indigenes by 50%, with plans for further increments aimed at ensuring accessibility to education by all citizens.

He highlighted some of the challenges that informed the decision to organize the summit to include decay in infrastructure, inadequate training of teachers as well as the growing number of out of school children in the state.

Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed added that a state of emergency was declared in the education sector and that the focus will be on modernizing the curriculum to instill a Bauchi first consciousness to foster digital literacy.

He said this grand scheme envisions Bauchi State as a hub for education tourism, drawing from rich pool of resources and partnership to produce a globally recognized educational system that will produce competent and knowledgeable manpower for the state and the nation.

The governor confirmed that the state government has provided land and buildings to support the establishment of new institutions by the Federal Government in Azare and Jama’are explaining that a Ministry of Higher Education and Regional integration has been established and saddled with the responsibility of providing a roadmap for the future educational development.

He commended the stakeholders For attending the Summit and promised a prompt consideration and implementation of recommendations from the Summit for the development of education in Bauchi state.

In his address, Minister of Education Professor Tahir Mamman Who was represented by the state Minister at the Ministry Dr. Sanusi Yusuf Sanunu implied that the vision of Bauchi state Government in the education sector has aligned with the renewed hope agenda of Bola Ahmad Tinubu’s Administration.

Earlier in his opening remark, Chairman of the occasion and Former Executive Secretary TETfund Professor Sulaiman Elias Bogoro said the Summit is designed to serve as an avenue for formulating policies and mobilize the required resources through engagement of all relevant stakeholders towards providing equitable access to education that would guarantee the future of younger generation.

He commended the Bauchi state Government for organizing the Summit which he described as timely.