By ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi –
Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has lamented that corruption and sabotage were majorly responsible for the decay in the state education sector.
He said that it was disturbing that despite huge efforts and resources he has put into the sector, nothing much seems to be working.
Mohammed stated this in a speech during a meeting with critical stakeholders in the education sector in the state on Monday at the Banquet Hall of the Government House.
According to him, it is unacceptable for those who are supposed to manage prudently resources put in by government to develop the sector to be syphoning same, noting that the level of supervision of the schools by the state Universal Basic Education Board is appalling.
He vowed to investigate the education sector because, according to him, the level of dilapidation of some of the schools is alarming adding that he is not owing any contractor anything, “yet our schools are abandoned.”
The Governor said: “My attention was brought to some areas where completely our State Universal Basic Education Agency is not doing anything. After spending so many years here and then bragging that we have renovated and built over 5,000 classes but there are some mega schools that have been left untouched, unenumerated, unaccessed, they were not even brought forward by the agency for renovation.
“I think the quality of our work is not something to go home with because I have visited those schools myself, even some of the schools we renovated or built are leaking. So the quality of supervision from SUBEB is appalling but we have the opportunity to change.
“I have done my best but certainly, it seems there is no supervisor, there is no control, it is business as usual. I am highly disappointed with all managers at all levels, from my humble self, to my office, to the Secretary to the State Government that is supervising SUBEB, SUBEB and the Ministry of Education to the Local Government Authorities. We are not doing anything, it’s just eye service and making money, that is all and I will not agree, it will not continue.
“In Dumi here, a few kilometers from here, old schools in Bauchi with about 20 classes have been abandoned. Our pupils are sitting on the mat, all the roofs are blown off. The Chairman of Bauchi Local Government Area come from that area, it’s a shame. The same thing with me in my area visited, I go for evening visits myself to see. Even in Yelwa, so many schools have been left abandoned as if we have not started, I don’t understand.
“Things are not going on well, I wonder where our Education Secretaries are in the scheme of things. The rate of attrition of teachers in the schools is unbelievable. The numbers are showing high but if you go to a school, you find only one teacher or two teachers or you find only volunteers. Something must be wrong with SUBEB and our systems and we have to correct that.”
Speaking further, he said: “The World Bank and the Federal Government are helping us and we, as a State Government are regularly giving out counterpart grants; just last year, we spent N3 billion but I cannot see what is done with N3 billion. The year before that it was N5 billion and the one before it, it was N9 billion but the schools are still left like that. Somebody or some people are there sabotaging us.
“Today is not a tea party, I am not happy. Before we declare a state of emergency on education, we have to declare a state emergency on ourselves. We are not doing well, we are just pretending, all of ours stakeholders, people are just making money. I am not here to make money, not that I have money, I am here to make a difference. I went to an LEA school, a Government Secondary School and a government university and I am competing comfortably with my counterparts from any part of the world. Are we giving our children an opportunity like that? Education planning in the state is appalling.
“A situation whereby I see some buildings as if there is no any engineering work or supervision done is unacceptable. A situation whereby some schools are left unenumerated for renovation or rebuilding is unacceptable. We know the numbers, the demographics. Some places where you are supposed to have classes, they don’t have and you put them for political expediencies in other places, where is our planning. So, we have to sit up.
“I am going to investigate to find out what happened before, I am not just going to sleep and allow things to go just like that, I will not. Nobody will cheat the state and I will leave him, nobody. Even the previous procurements, I will look at them, let me just give you that notice.
“We are not owing any contractor anything, yet our schools are abandoned. What is the roles of the LEA Secretaries? It is their roles. So I have called the relevant MDAs here with the Local Government Chairmen and your Commissioner of Local Government, to sit down and find a way. I want the list of all those schools that are dilapidated, those who don’t have a Bala Mohammed to build their school up or anyone prominent and they are more Bauchi indigenes than us and they are deserving of services more than, we are not excluding anybody.
“By now, we should be building mega schools in each local government headquarters or big towns. BESDA is helping us, we are just accessing N5.3 billion. I didn’t want to do the other procurement because we are not doing well. “
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