Governor Lawal declares state of emergency on education in Zamfara

In a statewide broadcast on Tuesday, Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara decried the rot in the sector, which has spread to all levels from primary to tertiary institutions in the state.

Governor Dauda Lawal pledged that his administration would do all within its means to revamp the sector and rescue it from total collapse.

He noted that his government has commenced the construction and renovation of 245 schools across the 14 local government areas of the state, including the provision of two-seater desks for pupils and students, totaling 9,542, among other immediate interventions.

“This is in line with his campaign manifesto, where he made promises to the people of Zamfara to implement policies and programs aimed at reforming the education sector, building and rehabilitating public schools, providing adequate educational facilities, and training and retraining of the existing staff to enhance their capacity,” he said.

“All teachers and education managers will receive subject-specific training and retraining.

“To maintain a minimum level of quality in education delivery, the government has suspended the licenses of private education providers in the state. This ensures that private schools meet the required standards for providing quality education.

“Furthermore, in pursuit of quality education, my government has approved sponsoring 50% of Zamfara State indigenes admitted into Federal Government Girls College Gusau for the 2023-2024 academic sessions.”

“The State Government has paid the National Examination Council (NECO) fees for all Zamfara public school candidates who sat for the 2023 exams. Similarly, certificates for the candidates who sat for the 2019 NECO examinations have been collected and distributed to the students.”

“The results of the NECO exams taken in 2020, 2021, and 2022 will be released to students before the end of this month. The results were previously withheld by the NECO due to non-payment by the previous administration. However, with our intervention, students who graduated during those years can now access their results and apply to different tertiary institutions for admission.”

“The government is committed to changing the narrative of constant underperformance. Zamfara will thrive across all sectors. This is just the beginning of our rescue mission.”