The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has said the administration of President Bola Ahmad Tinubu has returned more than one million out-of-school children to the classroom in the last 24 months.

 

Besides, the Minister insisted there is no going back on the controversial Land Swap with an investor at Federal Government College FGC, Kano.

 

Dr. Alausa made this known during an inspection of AGILE projects in Kano state public schools and commissioning of digital library at FGC, Kano.

 

The Minister who raised concern over the menace of Out-of-School Children in Northern Nigeria, disclosed establishment of bilingual schools as part of the Federal Government’s strategy to take children off the streets and integrate them into the formal education system.

 

“Over the last 24 months, we have moved over one million children out of school back to school. Our goal, beyond bringing them back to school, is to improve retention,” he said.

 

He said a bilingual school visited by the delegation was about 90 per cent completed, with the contractor promising to deliver the project on or before August 31, 2026.

 

The minister added that a second bilingual school was also being prepared for operation during the current academic session, while a fourth bilingual school was expected to be completed and operational by June 2027.

 

According to him, the Kano State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) is expected to commence the recruitment of teachers and other preparations to enable the school to become operational by the beginning of the 2026/2027 academic session.

 

The minister also inspected an IJR-sponsored junior secondary school in Langan, where about 12 new classrooms, perimeter fencing and a security facility were under construction.

 

He said the completion of the project would enable the junior secondary school to move into the new facility, while the existing structure would be used to accommodate the primary school.

 

Alausa further said the Federal Government would support the furnishing of the primary school and introduce other initiatives aimed at improving the quality of education.

 

While reacting on the 15 hectares of Land already disposed by the Federal government under Public-Private Partnership at FGC, Kano, the Minister insisted the land sway was intended to strengthen Physical infrastructural development in the school.

 

Alausa said there was no justification for retaining large portions of land that would not be utilised for decades if such land could be used through a transparent partnership to generate resources for the benefit of the school and its students.

 

He said the government would not allow sentiment or emotion to prevent initiatives that would improve the quality of education available to Nigerian children.

 

The minister said the decision was based on firsthand assessment rather than information supplied from Abuja, adding that senior officials had visited the school on previous occasions to assess the situation.

 

He assured stakeholders, including old students of the college, that the Federal Government would do what it considered to be in the best interest of the students.

 

The Minister was accompanied by the Minister of State for Education, officials of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the Federal Ministry of Education and the Kano State Commissioner for Education.