SAN FRANCISCO, November 05, (THEWILL) – The Borno State Government on Tuesday took stock of the cost of the four-year-old Boko Haram insurgency in the state on the education sector, saying it has greatly affected attendance at schools across the state.
The state governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, who was represented by the Commissioner of Education, Inuwa Kubo, disclosed this while speaking to journalists during an assessment tour of ongoing renovation of schools in the state. He said the government has however commenced the renovation of schools destroyed by the insurgents at the peak of the crisis.
According to the governor, the development of education would have been accelerated beyond its present state if Borno had enjoyed relative peace in the last two years of the present administration.
“I must be frank, the insecurity in Borno has taken a toll on our education sector because we would have moved beyond where we are now but the challenge keeps drawing us back. Imagine each time government spent huge money on renovating burnt schools or rebuilding them, the insurgents would return and destroy them again. It is quite frustrating. It is the same insecurity that is affecting attendance of students,” he lamented.
Shettima however said hope was not lost on the state’s plan to develop its education sector, maintaining that the government has continued to perform its duty by renovating the schools or in some instances, rebuild them.
“We are renovating classroom, staff quarters and other structure in most of the school. The investment we are putting in education is not for now but a careful plan for the future of our state,” he stated.
All schools in the state, according to the governor, were earmarked for renovation as some buildings would be pulled down completely to give way for new structures.
He said the government was aware of the low enrollment into primary and secondary schools in the northern part of the state, stressing that it was for such reason that government introduced incentive for parents and guardians in the area to release their children.
Shettima had earlier inspected the progress of work on the renovation of some school within Maiduguri metropolis where he urged contractors to expedite action on the renovation. He also directed that the dilapidated Convocation Pavilion of Sir Kashim Ibrahim College of Education in the state capital to be pulled down and new structure erected within two weeks. The convocation ground which was built in 1984 has been overtaken by weeds and reptiles. The governor however expressed satisfaction at the quality of materials being used for the renovation and rebuilding of the college hostels, lecture halls and office accommodation.
