Northern Governors have been tasked to declare a state of emergency in the education sector in order to address challenges in the sector.
The Nasarawa State chairman of the Universal Basic Education Board, (NSUBEB), Abdulkareem Abubakar, gave the challenge while lamenting the low standard of education in the North.
Abdulkareem, who described the situation as “disastrous”, said it is a fact that the region’s public education is in terrible shape.
“Schools are failing, students are not getting the education they need and deserve. If we don’t reverse this trend, and soon, our children will continue to fall farther and farther behind in their ability to compete in our national economy. Our education system is nothing short of a criminal disgrace,” he stated
He said because of the neglect by past administrations “the primary schools that are supposed to be the foundation for our futures of tomorrow are in a terrible state.
“The level of dilapidation in our primary schools is alarming and even the government secondary schools that are also meant to be the preparatory ground for a university education are also not lagging behind in the decay.”
Abubakar added, “It will interest you to know that before the advent of this administration, Nasarawa State was ranked behind, among the non-performing states by the Universal Basic Education Commission and the root of the quagmire can be traced to corruption; money meant for education development was pocketed by corrupt officials, who see any penny that passes their table as a national cake.”
He, however, noted that on assumption to office and with the support and commitment of Governor Tanko Umaru Al-makura, they were able to reverse the trend and this led to the transformation being witnessed in the system.
The board chairman also disclosed that, the state is now ranked in the second category on the assessment platform.
He said despite the achievement recorded within this short period, a lot needs to be done, especially in addressing the issue of unqualified teachers.
“Over the years, the political class see the teaching profession as a means of compensating or settling their loyalists, not minding the implications,” he stated
Abdulkareem, who attributed the decay in the system to lack of fear of God said, ”The reason why our country is at this level of moral decay is because all of us have failed in our responsibilities, we have allowed the political class to determine things, by setting the wrong agenda for us. The custodians of public interest have allowed themselves to be used by the political class.”
