Kano state partners with British council to promote education

Kano State Government in north western Nigeria says it will continue to work closely with the British Council to address challenges surrounding the state education sector.

This was made known by the state commissioner of education, Umar Haruna Doguwa, onTuesday while receiving a team from British Council that paid him a working visit in his office.

In a statement signed by Balarabe Abdullahi, Director, public enlightenment of the ministry, the Commissioner said there is no better time to revive the long existing relationship between Kano State Government and British Council than now as the state embarks on creating policies and Programmes aimed at promoting the education sector.

The Commissioner maintained that what the Council has been doing in Nigeria and Kano State in particular in terms of educational support remains very commendable but there is need for more to complement effort of the present administration of revamping the sector.

He revealed that at this moment, the state is facing serious challenges that are undermining the progress of education and affecting the future of its younger ones.

“In Kano now, you have a school with 5000 pupils without standard toilet, no class rooms and seats. So, the problem is serious and pathetic.

“In addition to this, we can find a school with 300 hundred students without a teacher at the same time sitting on the window or bare floor,” the Commissioner lamented.

Doguwa stressed that Kano is now in need of 1.5 million seats for its students at primary and post primary schools.

Umar, who pointed out that the interventions expected from British Council in Kano on education are many, solicited that the Council should come to the state’s aid to address the lingering situation.

The Commissioner however decried the increase of out of school children in the state and assured of the present administration’s determination to minimize the situation.

“Today, we have 1.5m out of schools, a situation that has to be looked into because having people that are redundant is like creating ground for insecurity.

“So, we need to work together and establish more schools in Kano with all the needed facilities as obtainable in Britain,” Doguwa pleaded.

Earlier, the team leader of the British Council delegation, who is also the Council’s Director Programme in Nigeria, Chikodi Onyemerela, said his team was in the Commssioner’s office to strengthen the long existing relationship between British Council and the government and people of Kano particularly in the area of education.

Chikodi explained that British Council had been executing project and programmes in Kano especially in the area of higher education, primary, secondary and formal education.

“In the past, the British Council has been working in Kano in the area of community led social development Programme, sports, supporting systems, institutions as well as processes in the education sector,” he disclosed.

He further assured the Commissioner of the Council’s continued support to improve quality of education in the state.