Stakeholders in the educational sector have appealed to the Kano State government to deploy some of the 1,001 students sponsored under the Postgraduate Scholarship Programme to public schools after completing their studies.
The aim is to address the shortage of teaching personnel facing the state’s public schools.
It will be recalled that the State Governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, recently inaugurated an 18-member committee to implement the second phase of the Postgraduate Scholarship Programme.
The initiative aims to provide scholarships to 1,001 first-class graduates for master’s degrees at top public and private universities across Nigeria.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by the governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Shehu Wada Sagagi, Governor Yusuf emphasized the programme’s vision to develop Kano’s brightest talents and equip them with the knowledge to drive state development.
An opinion survey conducted in some public schools battling teacher shortages showed that most respondents urged the state government to take action by deploying some of the scholarship students to schools.
They believe this will significantly help equip schools with qualified teachers.
While commending the state government for the initiative, the headmaster of Sumakai Science and Mathematics Primary School in Kura, Garun-Malam Ilyasu Dauda, explained that his school is facing a shortage of science teachers.
He added that the school is science-oriented and currently has 380 students with only nine teachers.
He emphasized that students from other primary schools are deployed to Sumakai to learn science subjects.
He believes that if some of the scholarship students are deployed to the school after completing their studies, it would help address the shortage of science teachers.
Similarly, Alhaji Shu’aibu, the headmaster of Kumbotsho Primary School, lamented the lack of teachers at his school and urged the state government to deploy some of the scholarship graduates to schools in need.
Established in 1948, the school has a total of 2,890 pupils and 31 teachers.
Shu’aibu also highlighted the lack of a perimeter fence around the school, a problem that has persisted for 76 years.
He appealed to the state government to build a fence for the school to address security concerns.
The headmaster explained that without a fence, pupils often sneak out during breaks, and some have gone missing in the past.
“Due to the lack of a fence, our pupils can easily leave the school unnoticed, especially during break times.
We had an incident where a pupil sneaked out and was later found in another local government area far from Kumbotso,” he said.
He added, “If there were a fence, we could better monitor the movement of the pupils with a gate and security personnel to control access to the school. Without it, children go missing, and the school faces security risks.”
Additionally, the headmaster pointed out that the school is facing issues with theft and encroachment from some members of the community.
He also mentioned that the school lacks enough toilets for its large population, with only four toilets available for the 2,890 pupils.
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“We have recently received 60 desks from the state government’s distribution program, for which we are grateful.
However, we still lack sufficient desks, as only four out of 14 classrooms have them,” he explained.
Despite these challenges, the headmaster praised the state government for providing much-needed instructional materials and constructing new classrooms.
“We thank the governor for the construction of new classrooms, which we have needed for a long time. This intervention is highly commendable,” he said.
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