The wife of Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Hajiya Ummi El-Rufai, has lamented the standard of education in Nigeria, describing it as very poor
She said the opportunity for the pupils to learn is not adequate.
Speaking at the newly constructed Fifth Chukker Modern Primary School, Maraban, Jos built by Fifth Chukker and Access Bank to accommodate 12,000 pupils from the rural community, Ummi who served as a Charity Ambassador to UNICEF, said the school would provide the rural children with the benefit of enjoying standard education.
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She recalled that years back their parents enjoyed free and quality education, unlike the present generation.
The First Lady of Kaduna State lauded the initiative by the Fifth Chukker and Access Bank to construct the primary school for the benefit of the children in the community.
She said, “So it is a project that everybody wants to be part of, touching the lives of the 12,000 children in this day in Nigeria where education is very poor, even the opportunity for children to learn is not really there. So it is something you want to be part of and it is something that I’m very proud to be part of.
“I’m really happy for these children because our parents had it easy if you think about it. Yes, there was free education in those days and the quality was good and that is what this project wants to bring back. Free quality education for these children so that their future is limitless.”
She explained further that if these kinds of modern schools are built in communities most parents will not bother to send their children to private schools because the quality of learning will be standard.
In his remarks, a philanthropist and founder of the Fifth Chukker, Adamu Attah, said years back he and some partners were disturbed with the standard of education in northern Nigeria and they decided to adopt the Maraban Jos primary school with less than 500 pupils then and expanded it to accommodate 12,000 pupils.
He said new classrooms were constructed to make the environment conducive for learning and commended all those that supported the project, including UNICEF for making it a reality.
