Katsina State Government says it considers the provision of equal access to basic education as the right of children in the state not a privilege.
The Executive Chairman, Katsina State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Lawal Buhari-Daura, disclosed this on Thursday in Katsina.
Buhari-Daura was speaking at a one-day planning meeting on ‘Advocacy and Sensitisation Campaign on Retention, Completion and Transition of Children from Primary to Secondary Schools’.
He said the programme was being funded by the World Bank under Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), in collaboration with the state’s Ministry of Education and SUBEB.
Buhari-Daura commended the World Bank for its intervention by supporting the development of basic education in the state.
He said that BESDA programme had complemented the concerted efforts of the state government in the provisions of additional classrooms, facilities, furniture, training and retraining of teachers.
The SUBEB boss also commended the efforts of Gov Aminu Masari’s administration towards resuscitating the education in the state.
Also speaking, the Director, Social Mobilisation of the board, Alhaji Garba Adda’u expressed the need for stakeholders’ collaboration to ensure that more school-aged children were enrolled into schools.
He further urged them to ensure full ownership of the activities of BESDA programmes.
The Assistant Director, Community in the board, Alhaji Sada Isah-Umar, in his remarks said that the major objectives of BESDA were reducing out-of-school children, improving literacy rate and system strengthening.
He said the programme had impacted positively through the reduction of out-of -school children to about 36 per cent, and the establishment of 255 integrated learning centres, among others.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Secretary of the board, Dr Isah Idris-Zakari stressed the need for sustaining the activities of BESDA after the programme winds up in Jan. 2023. (NAN)
