Bauchi’s new approach to revamping education

The recent approach by the Bauchi State government to holistically address dearth of education in terms of requisite man power development and infrastructure will definitely turn around the fortunes of students and pupils in the state.
The argument is that without developing the skills and welfare of teachers, vis a vis providing enabling environment for learning, it would be difficult for students to come out with expected results that would guarantee them to further their education.
Recent statistics from United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF shows that more than 10 million children of school age are out of schools in Nigeria.
The world body said about one million of such hapless children are mostly girls from Bauchi State.
The statistics also indicate that as of 2007, there were less than 1,000 teachers handling over 200,000 in Bauchi no fewer than  247 public secondary schools in the state.
In simple arithmetic, the scenario translates to a ratio of one teacher to 200 students in public secondary schools even as most of them were members of the National Youths Service (NYSC) posted to the state.
The records also reveal that more than 7,000 out of the 16,000 primary school teachers in the state were not qualified to teach as they do not possess the required National Certificate in Education (NCE), which is the minimum teaching qualification by Nigerian standard.
The decay in the state’s education sector was malignant that only nine candidates, out of the over 3,000 candidates in the state who sat for the 2004 Common Entrance Examination passed with credits.
Such was the appalling situation bequeathed the APC administration in 2015 by the out-gone PDP administration and its collaborators in the National Assembly and in diaspora, who are till date labouring in vain to tear the state into shreds for selfish reasons.
Education observers say that most of the candidates failed to even spell their names correctly during oral interview session, reflecting the degree of deterioration in the most important sector.
They, therefore, bemoaned the unwholesome scenario, especially at the secondary school level, in spite of claimed huge investments in the sector by successive administrations.
These are some of the ills that Governor Mohammed Abubakar resolves to correct.
The worries of most of the observers are justified. Only four out of the over 8,000 candidates who sat for the 1999 Senior Secondary School Examination, SSCE in the state scored five credits and above.
Against the backdrop of the over N700million claimed to have been expended by the state government on education in that year alone, the poor showing was not only discouraging but begs for further explanation to authenticate the fact.
Governor Muhammed Abubakar’s resolve to give priority attention to the development of education is therefore understandable and encouraging.
Determined to change the inherited scenario of failure and discouragement, Governor Muhammed Abubakar has vowed to restore the fading glory of the teaching profession.
For instance, his administration has embarked on the training of 350 teachers in modern teaching techniques with the aim to sharpening their memories with emerging development in research.
Beneficiaries of the training were selected from amongst senior, junior secondary and primary schools while 50 principals of senior, junior secondary schools and technical colleges and head teachers are to undergo intensive training on train the trainers at the National Teachers Institute (NTI), Kaduna.
To achieve the targeted result, the State Education Program Investment Project (SEPIP) also trained 793 School Based Management Committees while over N280million school grant was disbursed to the project to implement school improvement plan for effective school management and accountability.
Moving steadily to the goal, dilapidated educational institutions across the state are undergoing intensive renovation, including provision of state-of-the-art teaching aids and other necessary facilities, while a special welfare package for teachers is under serious consideration for possible improvement in anticipation of optimum result to reciprocate.
Commenting on the strides towards revamping education, Rector of Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi, Dr Suleiman Lame said, “The State Governor is not an educationist but proves to be seriously concerned with the improvement of education at all levels. The state is witnessing an aggressive approach to restoring the fading glory of the teaching profession that needs support”.
As the governor trudges on to change the old order, rabble rousers and political turncoats in collaboration with other drowning politicians on the other side of the divide disguising as political opponents, remain adamant and insulting to the laudable efforts.
In their usual style of twisting facts to suit their disjointed arguments, they paint the government black. Notwithstanding the unpleasant challenges inherited, it is no secret that the state’s economy was in dire straits, given the narrative, huge sums of public funds, denominated in local and foreign currencies accruing to the state were either corruptly misappropriated or in bare-faced stance, stolen brazenly that could have ordinarily provided what Governor Muhammed Abubakar is providing today.
The blueprint in systematic implementation is probably sending shivers to rabble rousers that are tirelessly fighting the vow under the cover of politics and patriotism.
But fortunate enough, Nigerians know that because of the perilous exposure of the economy to the antics of self-styled, ‘patriotic’ sons of the soil along with their female counterparts, who took delight in dipping their long itchy-fingers into the till, and yet, are forever in the forefront for elective positions. It is foolhardy and primitive to expect Governor Muhammed Abubakar and his aides to stop flogging the anti-corruption rhetoric.
Given the hallmarks of the governor that defines him as a leader with candour, who in all seasons, is his own man, it is futile and suicidal for any novice, toddler, jobber or rabble rouser to be second-guessing his body language because the man is a stickler for excellence which is glaringly clear.
Although, most of those rabble rousers have been boxed into the corner and lost credibility and short of fighting skills, the flogging will not stop until the horses are certified cynically dead with Bauchi State turned to Eldorado.
While the education sector is receiving adequate attention, roads and other infrastructures are steadily reaching the doorsteps of the people across the state as a justification of a mandate within limited resources managed carefully for posterity and reference to future leaders.
Konkiyel is an Abuja based public affairs commentator