Bauchi commissioner tips improved nomadic education to curb banditry

Bauchi State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Aliyu Tilde, has said that improving the nation’s nomadic education system will curb banditry in the country.

In a statement made available to The Guardian after he was sworn in again as education commissioner, Tilde said nomadic education had suffered neglect in the past, this would be the state’s priority.

The commissioner said he met with the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE), Prof. Bashir Usman, who assured him of the commission’s support.

He said: “The statistics are clear. In the past five years, only seven projects were carried out under Bauchi State Agency for Nomadic Education (BASANE), touching on only seven out of 463 primary schools, three of which were carried out by NCNE. To put it straight, the 463 schools have been abandoned for years. Is it surprising that we have bandits and kidnappers below the age of 30 from our forests?

“Are these schools not part of the basic schools’ count that are entitled to the attention that other similar schools get? Fortunately, I have cleared the matter with the Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in Abuja a day before. These schools deserve to be treated as other schools.

“It is my duty as commissioner to bring every stakeholder involved on board in the state. Soon, Bauchi will gain the heart of Professor Bashir, and of his Chairman, Professor Tahir, the emeritus administrator of basic education in the country.”

As the clerics continue with their effort in taking religious education to the nomads, the government needs to retrace its steps and pay due attention to the rights and plight of the nomads.

“Education is the only tool for their refinement and integration into the larger civilisation,” he said.