Kano govt seeks for support to revamp the education section in the state

The governor of Kano State has asked development partners for more assistance in order to rebuild the state’s educational system.

Alhaji Umar Haruna Doguwa, the Commissioner for Education in the state, made the appeal on Thursday while visiting the Smart School in Tarda, which was built by the Federal Government and furnished by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and while meeting with representatives of PLANE, a project supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, FCDO, that supports basic education in the state.

Alhaji Umar Haruna stated during his visit to the Smart School in Tarda that Kano will require the help of donor organizations in order to keep up with the global trend of the move to the knowledge economy.

“Despite the difficulties we currently face, we must not fall behind in the use of education to advance our economy. To move forward in this direction, we require the assistance of KOICA and similar organizations.

The Commissioner commended the Korea International Cooperation Agency for sponsoring selected teachers for a three-week training in Korea and for providing the Smart School with digital teaching and learning resources.

This, he said, would greatly enhance relations between Nigeria and Korea and support the current administration’s initiatives to raise the state’s educational bar.

He assured that the KOICA’s goodwill would not be misused.

In his remarks, the country director of KOICA, Prof. Sungil Sun, said that among the six states where the organization is supporting, the best of these schools right now is the one in Kano. He expressed his admiration for the state government of Kano’s dedication to overseeing the Smart School.

He was also pleased that the school’s headmaster, Malam Maikudi Al-Alawi, had demonstrated unusual dedication in operating the institution.

The Country Director stated that with this breakthrough, his agency hopes to increase its collaboration with the Kano state government.

During his discussion with PLANE officials, Doguwa also stated that his ministry will not allow its image to be harmed by misappropriation of monies channeled to the state to enhance education.

Doguwa reaffirmed that education is the Abba administration’s top priority, saying that the government’s budget for 2024 will explicitly state its commitment in that regard.

On the other hand, the Alhaji Umar asked funding organizations operating in the state’s education sector to coordinate their efforts in order to avoid redundancy and enable funds to be directed to priority.

Malam Umar Lawan, State Team Lead, PLANE, highlighted in his remarks that their project was a seven-year initiative focused on assisting the government in implementing basic education policies and programs, with a concentration on girl-child education.