ANKELI EMMANUEL writes that Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has established himself as a man who wants to leave a strong legacy of education in his state-first with his lion share outlay for education in his two budgets- his declaration of state of emergency on education and the unprecedented law in the state that is about to make education free-for-all and a justiciable right in the Seat of the Caliphate.
Is no longer news that the Sokoto State House of Assembly recently passed the right to education law. The law which is awaiting executive assent will soon take effect, as appending his signature will be the least of tasks for Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
Remarkable is that the law would as well strengthen the frontiers of Tambuwal’s quest for a revolutionary leap in the state’s education sector.
The new law, which, analysts observe as a template for the successful actualization of Tambuwal’s state of emergency on education, that has lasted almost over a year now, would legislatively provide the needed punitive measures for those that will be considered as clogs in his administrative wheel of placing the state in the higher rung the ladder of states that prioritise education.
Aptly capturing the components of the new law, Governor Tambuwal’s spokesperson, Mallam Imam Imam said, “It also provides that, all children between the ages of six to 18 get compulsory education at government’s expense and severe punishment also awaits any parents, or guardian who goes contrary to the requirement of the education law.”
After all, the law would aside seeking to provide free and compulsory education to all children irrespective of background in the state, also open up the minds of many that Sokoto still holds to its founding fathers’ knowledge seeking principle.
“Moreover, the beauty of the compulsory education law coming from the Seat of the Caliphate, a state reputed for being the centre of Islam in Nigeria goes to mean that, the religion embraces education and never sees it as haram,” says Mallam Kabiru, an Islamic scholar in the state.
In his appreciation of the lawmakers foresight, Governor Tambuwal said, they deserve special praise for their pro-activeness, hence the new law will extend the frontiers of the state of emergency earlier declared on the education sector.
The new education law will also institutionalise the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC), whose job it is to ensure that public schools are properly supervised by parents and members of the public.
“This is a key intervention in our effort to expand access to education in our dear state. The decision to pass this law has given us the necessary legal framework to push forward our policy of the state of emergency we declared in the sector over a year ago.
“We commend especially members of the assembly’s committee on education who showed enough zeal and determination to convince their colleagues to pass the Bill at a record time.
“As the first state in Nigeria to make education justiciable right, we hope to implement the provisions of the law to the letter. For us, the work on realising our objectives for the education sector has only just begun.
“We seek the support and cooperation of members of the public and all stakeholders, local and international, to enable us provide quality and accessible education to our children,” the governor stated.
It is a known fact that, very many would not appreciate Governor Tambuwals’ revolutionary stride in the state’s education sector, not even when the effects of recession still take its tolls on many families across the federation.
However, for those that are students of history, a simple reflection at the age-long, but evergreen words of the great South African human right activist and an anti-apartheid leader, Nelsom Mandela, that, education is the most powerful weapon which one can use in changing the world gives good endorsement to Tambuwal’s priority for education in Sokoto.
Bearing this in mind, the educational revolutionary movement of Tambuwal in Sokoto at the moment when viewed from the pragmatic lens of a futuristic policy, would no doubt be adjudged as someone who even before becoming governor clearly understood the challenges of his state.
Fact is while Nigeria has the highest number of out of school children globally as declared by UNICEF, Sokoto state painfully has the highest number of out of school children in the country.Recounting the bitter reality recently at a two-day planning meeting of a ‘No more out-of-school children in Nigeria,’ held in Sokoto, Mohammed Mohiuddin, UNICEF’s chief of Sokoto Field Office, disclosed that Nigeria has approximately more than 10 million out-of-school children.
“This is proportionally the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, with 60 per cent of them located in Northern Nigeria.”
Mohiuddin, who further lamented that majority of the out-of-school children in Sokoto State are girls, however, added that the state is among the five states in Northern Nigeria that are benefiting from the United Kingdom, United States governments’ funded Girls Education Project Phase 3.
According to him, UNICEF had contributed more than $71.5 million for the education of out-of-school children in four northern states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and Katsina, where more than 500,000 out-of-school children in 18 local government areas will benefit.
Admitting the stark revelation by UNICEF on why male children are at advantage of been educated over their female counterpart in the region, Ibrahim Tunga told LEADERSHIP Weekend that parents of the girl-child, especially those in the rural areas prefer giving them out for marriage rather than allowing them to go to school.
Reasons for this according to him is not far-fetched. As most parents have the belief that any investment done on the girl-child is more of a waste because they often just end up in a husband’s home.
“And even in the husband’s house, majority of them are sentenced to full-fledged housewives with little or no access to any opportunity of using the knowledge so acquired.
“Sometimes too, the culture if not holistically reviewed, has a way of reducing that self-esteem in the girl-child. As they are always seen as second class citizens that must not utter a word even when trampled upon.”
The governor, as a lawmaker and an advocate of people’s right, saw education for all as a right and never a privileged hence the need to do away with any impediment that can thwart that vision.
Tambuwal’s administration is indeed leaving no stone unturned towards achieving education for all, as recently confirmed by the commissioner for Basic and Secondary education, Dr Jabi Kilgori.
Dr. Kilgori said having seen that the girl-child enrolment in the state is just 30 per cent compared to that of boys, which stood at 70, divulged that, strong and different measures have been designed to improve the ugly trend.
Kilgori said, “There are 82 senior secondary schools, 166 JSS and 1,980 primarily schools, 2,244 non-formal learning centres, 343 Integrated Quaranic Education centers and nine Almajiri schools under the ministry. The ministry supports 1, 545 Islamiya and Qauranic schools, 34 Islamic organizations and is collaborating with 97 registered private schools.
“According to the 2015 school census there are 728, 897 pupils in primary schools, 87, 918 in JSS and 71, 755 in senior secondary schools with 14, 162 teachers serving at primary and 4, 270 at the secondary schools.”
He further explained some of the government’s plans towards encouraging female enrolment into schools in Sokoto State to include “Female Teachers Mobility Project,” where females teachers would be provided with free shuttle buses to help them teach in rural areas as role models to the girl child.
Remarkable is that Tambuwal’s first ever budget (2016) clearly sent the signal to all doubting Thomases as he gave education more priority and allocation than every other sector.
Tambuwal repeated same feat in 2017 as the state education yet again got the highest budgetary allocation in the budget outlay.
But beyond the budgetary allocation, Tambuwal often time go round to inspect the state of schools across the state, as a way to ensure speedy and smooth implementation of the recommendations of the committee he set up to understudy the state of emergency on education.
The committee headed by the immediate past vice chancellor of Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Professor Arabu Riskuwa noted among other things that, a large percentage of the teachers in the state are not qualified, and that learning materials, furniture as well as the structures needed to be improved upon.
Much as the governor is doing everything to ensure that the state of emergency committee’s report is carried out to the letter as a veritable pathway of returning the glory of education in the state, yet others within the circle of governance seem not to be on the same page with Tambuwal.
Confirming this fears, our correspondent gathered that a good number of the non-indigenes teaching in the state are no longer comfortable with their jobs.
Reasons being that they were threatened by the actions of those who carried out the recent teachers verification exercise in the state.
According to them, aside the fact that majority of them are teaching in the state under temporary contract arrangement, their contracts have not been reviewed in the last four years.
They therefore appealed to Tambuwal to urgently address the matter with the Nigerian Union of Teachers in the state as a sure platform for rekindling their passion to impact knowledge.
Should the new education law is to be observed properly, then the very disturbing issue of almajiri in the state would be addressed, while a massive sensitisation campaign strategy must be urgently designed and implemented, as advised by Mallam Hussienin Kabiru.