The Katsina State Government yesterday rolled out several reform plans to be carried out in the education sector as part of measures aimed not only consolidating on the past achievements but to record greater improvement and infrastructural development of the sector

Commissioner for Education, Hajia Hadiza Yaradua Abubakar who unveiled the plans yesterday while briefing newsmen in her office, said the primary focus of her ministry is to address some of the teething issues including reducing the teacher-students ratio by building more schools, ensuring reduction in commute time and distance for children to access learning centers.

She said: ’’I have left my comfort zone as a school owner for over a decade to come to Katsina to roll up my sleeves and ensure that our children are equipped to access opportunities that will make them globally relevant’.

‘’I have no doubt that education is the bedrock of any societal development. Despite the high importance of education, the sector in Katsina State is riddled with a lot of challenges’.

‘’These challenges include amongst others: infrastructure, funding, access to opportunities and personnel. These factors require coordination and concerted efforts to change the narrative. ’Some of the observations we made when we resumed office include: teacher to students ratio across public schools in Katsina is 1:120; children walk an average of five km to and from school, insecurity in areas prone to bandit attack.
‘’About 78 per cent of parents send their children to public schools with the state government as sponsor. Limited information and access to relevant data that share more insight of the state of the Basic and Secondary Education, also needed to be addressed’’.

Culled from The Nation