Basic education being overhauled in Yobe – Prof. Abba

Basic education being overhauled in Yobe – Prof. Abba

Following what can be referred to as post-insurgency rebuilding, basic and secondary educations in Yobe state are picking up from the ashes. In this interview with YUSUF A YUSUF, the state commissioner for basic and secondary education, Prof Abba Idris Adam, says a lot of recaliberations are being done to return Yobe to the path of educational honour.

You were recently appointed as the commissioner for basic and secondary education in Yobe state. What really are your functions and what do you set out to achieve?

My functions are many, but the key among them is policy implementation because it is the duty of the commissioner to formulate and recommend educational policies that would improve the quality of education, ensure the implementation of state and national education policies, curriculum development review and make sure that schools, both public and private, strictly adhere to the approved curriculum. There is also teachers recruitment, training, certification and professional development, aside from overseeing the administration of schools and educational institutions by monitoring their performances as well as agencies and boards under the ministry. In doing all these,  I also address complaints and resolve disputes within the system through enforcing compliance with education laws and regulations. 

The allocations for education-related projects and programmes are also managed by my office. To achieve that, the ministry has embarked on reviewing the existing educational policies in line with the current realities by realigning the projects in the sector and updating our strategic development plans. As you know, teachers are categorised into three. The first is qualified teachers. This category belongs to those who possess all the required skills and chose teaching as their profession because of their passion for it. The second category are those that are not qualified but can be trained. They require some trainings and coachings before sending them into the classroom. The last category are those that are not qualified and not trainable who must not be allowed to have access to our classrooms. Other key areas we are working on are Lost in Transition Policy and  Out of School Children phenomenon. 

When Governor Mai Mala Buni came on board in 2019, he declared a state of emergency on education. What is the education policy of the state now and how does it works?

His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni declared the  emergency on basic and secondary education on May 29, 2019. This was followed by the First Yobe Education Summit where experts from around the world were invited to diagnose the challenges facing education in Yobe state. I could remember that we had people from the United States of America, though of Nigerian origin, but were experts in education and psychology who brainstormed and presented series of recommendations for immediate implementation. Those recommendations culminated in the constitution of the technical committee to revitalise basic and secondary education under the chairmanship of Prof Mala Daura. To generate funds for education, His Excellency inaugurated the Yobe Education Trust Fund (YETFUND). All these giant strides were made to clear grounds for the grand overhaul of education in Yobe. To ease access to fund and clear all the obstacles that may arise, His Excellency Mai Mala Buni also formed ‘Yobe Education Council’ under his chairmanship where memoranda, proposals and submissions for construction, renovation and procurement of instructional materials are presented and approved. 

Do you have any technical development policy in place that gives hope to indigenous students?

What we have is Teachers Professional Development Policy and Yobe State Education Policy. These two policies have covered the technical aspect of education for the students of the state. It is pertinent to highlight at this point that arrangements have been concluded for the construction and establishment of six Smart-Ed Schools, two in every zone. These are schools where technology would be integrated into teaching and learning would be provided with the state-of-art facilities where normal students and students with special needs would jointly receive lessons in the same classroom. This will eliminate the feeling of segregation against students with special needs. 

In the past, Yobe was described as one of the states that was backward, disadvantaged in education.  What is the situation now especially with regards to out-of-school children?

Out of School children is a term that has been commonly used by educationists but misused or abused by others. Most of the statistics on out-of-school children are taken from formal schools only. By implication, that means students of Islamiyyah and Tsangaya schools are also levelled as out-of-school. This is because their system of education is not recognised by the National Policy on Education and that is why the problem of out-of-school children in Nigeria is a complex one with multifaceted causes. According to UNICEF, in Nigeria we have about 18.5 million children out of school and there are several social, economic and educational factors responsible for that. But the key factor responsible in Yobe state is insecurity and conflict. As you know, Yobe is currently recovering from the devastation caused by the Boko Haram insurgency, where many educational facilities were destroyed and many families displaced. So, to address this, His Excellency Mai Mala Buni embarked on reforming the Tsangaya system of education under the Arabic and Islamic Education Board (AISEB), while emphasizing on skills acquisition for the teeming youths.

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Alternative education or non-formal education is very key in eroding illiteracy in the society. Does this kind of education exists in the state and how many centres are currently functional?

Well, there are three types of education in Nigeria. Formal, non-formal and informal education. Formal education is a structured and systematic form of education that occurs within schools, colleges or universities. Non-formal education is an organised and a structured form of education but takes place outside the formal education system such as adult education or vocational training. While informal education is a lifelong learning process acquired outside formal institutions such as learning skills by watching videos.

So, for alternative or non-formal education for out-of-school children in Yobe State, it is divided into two. Firstly, children between the ages of 5 to 14 are given what we call the Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP) then they will later be mainstreamed into a formal education system. In collaboration with Opportunity to Learn (OTL), we have 548 non-formal learning centres across the state. Secondly, children from the age of 15 and above are enrolled into a skill acquisition programme, where from time to time, they are trained on skills of their choice and are provided with kits in order to set up their small businesses. In Yobe state we have 11 of such skill acquisition centres.

The challenge of adolescent girls dropping out of school or lost in transition from primary through Junior and Senior Secondary Schools is common in the northern parts of the country.  What is Yobe state government doing to ensure girls complete at least Senior Secondary School Education?

Some of the notable reasons adolescent girls drop out of school are economic challenges. Due to economic hardship in the country, many families cannot afford school fees thereby forcing their children to drop out. However, it is pertinent to note that Basic and Secondary Education in Yobe State is 100% free. Not just that, even the registration of WAEC, NECO, NABTEB and NBAIS is fully paid by the state government. To encourage adolescent girls to further their studies, His Excellency established 10 Government Girls Day Senior Science Secondary Schools across the state now accommodating over 20,000 adolescent girls passionately studying Sciences. 

Recently, there was an alleged publication that Yobe state government spent zero expenditure on Basic and Secondary Education. Was the publication correct?

That allegation was preposterous and doesn’t deserve a response. How can a state run the affairs of primary, junior and senior secondary schools from January to November with zero allocation? How is that logical? From January to October, Yobe state government spent over N7.9 billion on Basic and Secondary Education. On renovation alone, the state government spent N1.7 billion. Payment of WAEC and NECO registration fees cost N1 billion, students feeding programme N2.8 billion, NTIC registration N1.4 billion, to mention but just a few.

Has there been any improvement in the primary school enrolment especially in the local government areas affected by Boko Haram insurgency and have students returned?

Most of the schools destroyed by Boko Haram insurgency have now reopened and resumed academic activities as a result of improvement of security in the state. Schools like Government Secondary School Babangida, Bularafa, Bunigari with the exception of Government Technical School Goniri and Government Girls Science Technical College Dapchi have all returned. As you know, the prime target of Boko Haram is educational facilities, teachers and students. This resulted in the destruction of most of the education facilities, thereby forcing educational activities in some parts of the state to stagnate for a while.  

What are your expectations in the education sector in the near future?

My expectation is to see that students of Yobe state excel in every aspect of life. My ambition is to produce students well experienced and well-educated that would contribute positively to the development of Yobe state and our country at large.