Kano warns principals against admitting unqualified pupils

Expresses happiness over progress in quality assurance policy

Acting Governor of Kano State, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, has warned secondary school principals against admitting primary school pupils who did not excel in the last Common Entrance Examination into their schools.

In a press release issued by the Director of Press to the State Governor, Aminu Yassar, Abubakar, who doubles as the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, warned that, “There is no place in the system for such students. Admitting unqualified students is a misnomer which must not be condoned.”

He therefore, directed that henceforth, all new intakes into secondary schools must merit the admission, emphasising that principals must ensure that no eligible student was victimised in the process.

According to the release, Abubakar who gave the directive during an interactive meeting with principals of public secondary schools in the state, also expressed happiness over progress made on the development of the state Education Quality Assurance Policy and Implementation Guidelines.

While tasking teachers and principals to put in their best in a bid to ensuring that students learn to their utmost, he pointed that the state ranks first among the five pilot states in the implementation of the new Quality Assurance Policy.

And, “to consolidate on this achievement, our principals should, therefore, ensure that the school self evaluation is used to catalyze changes in teacher attitude with respect to delivery in order to improve learning outcomes. My dear principals, you need to be more proactive, optimistic, dream the impossible and most important of all, is for you to be very creative and support government policies for the betterment of our dear state.”

In compliance with the National Council on Education’s directive that all schools must constitute functional school-based management committees, Abubakar revealed that the state has gone steps ahead by producing its own policy, to enable it have an edge in the implementation of the initiative, for the benefit of the state education system.

According to him, “Plans are being fine-tuned for the improvement of enrollment and decongestion in the secondary sub-sector in the state, through the establishment of more junior and senior secondary schools, as well as, the construction of additional classrooms in existing schools, along with required furniture and other facilities.”

On the “School Support Charges” introduced by the state government to address insufficient teaching aids, working materials and running costs in public schools, he warned that the government would not tolerate abuse of the initiative by any principal, or education officer.

He assured that the issue of appointment of senior personnel to manage Grade A schools and that of dilapidated principals’ quarters in boarding schools, would be addressed shortly.

In his remarks, President of All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) in the state, Alhaji Ahmad Haruna, urged the state government to mobilise parents to make them more actively involved in managing schools.

He also appealed for the allocation of houses or plots of land for the proposed Teachers Housing Scheme, pointing out that his association is convinced with the commitment of the government to promote service delivery in the education sector.