Bago’s Back to School Initiative
According to Wikipedia, education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods include storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and directed research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators, but learners may also educate themselves. Education can take place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational.
Therefore, and looking at the foregoing, that’s why the member of the House of Representatives, Hon Mohammed Umaru Bago (Chanchaga Federal Constituency) is paying serious attention, and putting more emphasis to issues of education, skills acquisition for self-reliance and to ensure a crime free society, and to also respond positively to the very alarming situation confronting us as a nation.
Sadly, governments at every level of governance are constrained by limited resources occasioned by dwindling revenue and corruption in every sphere of Nigeria’s public sector and which directly or indirectly impede the implementation of lofty ideas aimed at repositioning education and human capacity development.
Nevertheless, efforts and resources are channelled toward uplifting the standard of education most especially at the basic level - which include the provision of additional classrooms (or reconstruction of dilapidated ones as the case maybe) - all in the quest to placing education in its rightful position as the driver of sustainable economic growth and development.
More so, this effort is geared toward reducing the number of out of school children and to encourage a better collaboration and synergy. While, Hon Mohammed Bago in the same vein, is working assiduously with relevant stakeholders to increase pupils enrolment in public schools in other to complement the good work Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is doing to improve the standard of education in Niger State. In a recent report titled, ‘The Situation,’ the UNICEF in Nigeria noted that “Primary school enrolment has increased in recent years, but net attendance is only about 70 per cent, but Nigeria still has 10.5 million out-of-school children - the world’s highest number. Sixty per cent of those children are in northern Nigeria.”
It further added, “About 60 per cent of out-ofschool children are girls. Many of those who do enrol drop out early. Low perceptions of the value of education for girls and early marriages are among the reasons. Some northern states have laws requiring education of girls and prohibiting their withdrawal from school. Girls’ primary school attendance has been improving, but this has not been the case for girls from the poorest households.”
Again, the UNICEF report warns that “Increased enrolment rates have created challenges in ensuring quality education, as resources are spread more thinly. It is not rare to see cases where there are 100 pupils for one teacher, or where students learn under trees because of a lack of classrooms.”
It is against this background that the efforts which have been on top gear in enhancing teacher productivity and the quality of their output in the power state must be commended and applauded.
The Teacher Training and Development Institute at Maraban Dan-Daudu and others are springing up and the “Whole School Approach” is a good example of the Niger State government’s resolve and commitment to restoring the lost glory of this very important sector.
Interestingly, we’re very conscious of the fact that with education we can advance the frontiers of development and more importantly, in this era of globalisation and media convergence, ICT is the driving force while education remains key. Abdullahi Yusuf Kuta, abdulkuta86@gmail.com