Niger upgrades school feeding facilities, reviews outdated textbooks in 3 years

Niger upgrades school feeding facilities, reviews outdated textbooks in 3 years

The Niger Government says it upgrades feeding facilities and replaced obsolete kitchen equipment in boarding school across the state as part of reforms introduced under three years of Gov. Umaru Bago’s administration.

Dr Hadiza Mohammed, Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, disclosed this at a press conference marking the administration’s third anniversary in Minna on Friday.

Mohammed said that the administration inherited poor feeding conditions and dilapidated kitchen facilities in boarding schools but had taken immediate steps to improve the situation.

According to her, the government supplied modern kitchen equipment to boarding schools across the state to enhance feeding standards and students’ welfare.

“When this government came on board, the kitchen equipment in most boarding schools was in terrible condition, but the governor approved the supply of modern kitchen facilities to all boarding schools in the state.

“Today, students in our boarding schools eat meals some of them do not even have access to at home. Niger State now has one of the best feeding schemes in boarding schools,” she said.

The commissioner also said the ministry inherited obsolete teaching and learning materials, particularly textbooks that had not been reviewed for about 19 years.

She said the government commenced a comprehensive review of secondary school textbooks to align them with current educational standards.

“We discovered that most of the textbooks used in both public and private schools were outdated.

“One of the first steps we took was to begin a comprehensive review of the materials for secondary schools,” she said.

Mohammed further disclosed that the ministry developed a Teachers Career Policy to regulate recruitment, deployment, promotion and retention of teachers in the state.

She explained that the policy was aimed at ending indiscriminate recruitment of unqualified teachers and strengthening professionalism in the education sector.

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“Promotion of teachers will no longer be automatic. Teachers must undergo regular training and retraining before promotion.

“If you do not possess the required professional certification, you cannot teach in our schools,” she said.

Mohammed said the ministry had also established a Quality Assurance Policy to strengthen monitoring and supervision of teachers and learning activities across the state.

According to her, quality assurance offices have been established in all the 25 local government areas, with directors deployed to ensure compliance with standards in schools.

She added that the ministry had organised capacity-building programmes for teachers, particularly in science education methodology and practical teaching.

On insecurity, Mohammed said some Integrated Qur’anic Education (IQE) schools in vulnerable communities in Zone C were temporarily shut due to banditry attacks.

She, however, said that the schools were gradually reopening in phases under a Safe School Initiative introduced in collaboration with local government councils and host communities.

Mohammed said the initiative enabled communities and local councils to take ownership of schools and strengthen security around learning environments.

Also speaking, Alh. Isah Sidi, Commissioner for Agriculture, said the administration had made significant investments to boost food production and agricultural productivity in the state.

Sidi, represented by the Director of Agricultural Services and Linkages, Adamu Maikasuwa, said more than 250 tractors and other mechanised equipment had been deployed to support farming activities across the state.

He added that government distributed about 150,000 bags of fertiliser to farmers to improve cultivation and increase yields.

According to him, the interventions have resulted in increased production of rice, maize and sesame in the state.

Maikasuwa said the ministry had intensified training and retraining of extension workers in partnership with Sasakawa Africa Association.

“We have introduced greenhouse technology and established demonstration facilities within the state secretariat to encourage modern agricultural practices,” he said.

He further disclosed that Gov. Bago had directed the establishment of micro-credit agricultural cooperatives to enable farmers access financial support.

According to him, several states had visited Niger to understudy its agricultural programmes and reforms.

Maikasuwa added that the ministry established a Department of Nutrition and Food Services to strengthen food security and improve nutrition across the state.

He described the achievements as evidence of the administration’s commitment to agricultural development, food sufficiency and economic growth.