After spending N17billion, Bauchi governor scores self low on education

The Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, has said that he has approved a sum of N17billion in three years on education but the sector has not improved positively, despite a state of emergency he declared on education about four years ago, some government officials are frustrating his efforts.

Mohammed was ostensibly disturbed about the state of education after expending counterpart funding from the state and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

He said this on Monday evening when he called the Commissioner of Education, all local government education secretaries, and other government officials to a meeting inside the Government House.

He said: “We need to focus on education and my attention was drawn to some areas where completely our state Universal Basic Education Board is not doing anything after spending so many years here and then bragging that we have renovated and built over 5,000 classrooms.

“There are still mega schools that have been left untouched, unenumerated, they were not even brought forward by the Board for renovation. I think the quality of our work is not something to go home with because I have visited those schools myself.”

The Governor said that some of the schools that we renovated or built are leaking and so the quality of supervision from SUBEB is appalling. “I have done my best but certainly it appears there is no supervision, no control and it is business as usual,” he said.

“I am highly disappointed with all managers at all levels. From my humble self to my office, that of the Secretary to the state Government that is supervising SUBEB, SUBEB and the Ministry of Education as well as the Local Government Authorities are not doing anything. It’s just eye service and making money and I will not agree. It will not continue.”

He lamented further that the lack of teachers in schools, saying it is “unbelievable”. According to him, the number of teachers is huge in schools but you will go to school and find only one or two teachers. “Something must be wrong with SUBEB and our system and we have to correct it.”

He said that the World Bank and the Federal government are helping the state and the state government is regularly giving its counterpart grants.

“Just last year we spent N3 billion and I can not see what is done with it. Year before that we spent N5 billion and a year before that it was N9 billion and the schools are still left like that. Somebody or some people are there sabotaging us,” he lamented.

The Governor said that: “Before we declare a state of emergency on education, we have to declare it on ourselves because we are not doing well. People are just making money but I’m not here to make money, not that I have money but I’m here to make a difference.

“I went to a Local Education Authority school, government secondary school and government university and I’m competing comfortably with my counterparts in any part of the world. Are we giving our children the opportunity like that?”

He frowned at a situation whereby some schools are left unenumerated for renovation or for rebuilding is unacceptable. He pledged to investigate to find out what happened before, and he would not just go to sleep and allow things to go.