Yobe SUBEB Chairman Laments Poor Education Infrastructure in the State
As UNICEF Supports Yobe State with 40 Classrooms
The Yobe State University Basic Education Board (SUBEB) chairman, Prof. Musa Alabe has stated that the bane of basic education in the state is overpopulation and low enrolment.
Prof. Alabe made this disclosure during the flag-off of reconstruction and rehabilitation of 40 classrooms in Fika local government area by UNICEF.
“The main problems that we have as far as Yobe is concerned are divided into two; in one area, that is the southern side of Yobe, we have overcrowding of pupils, especially in potiskum town.
“So many schools are overcrowded with 300 to 350 pupils per class most especially in Ari-Kime primary school which has about 18,000 pupils in the entire school and the entire nation, it was rated as the most populated school,” he said.
The Yobe SUBEB boss also pointed out that the development in southern Yobe is not in tandem to what is obtainable in the northern part of the state as classes virtually empty due to low enrollment levels.
“On the other side, that is in northern Yobe, we have mere empty seat.
“So on one side you have mere empty classes and the other side you have overcrowding,” he noted.
In an effort to curtail these challenges, the Executive Chairman proposed two strategies; to take advocacy campaigns in the northern part and provide massive infrastructure to decongest pupils in the southern part of the state.
“So you have to have two strategies to address the situations.
“We have advocacy on one side and decongestion of pupils on the other side.”
Prof. Alabe commended UNICEF’s timely intervention, saying, it wouldn’t have come at a better time than now, especially when the state is faced with the challenge of dilapidated infrastructures in schools.
“Today we are witnessing the renovations and reconstructions of 40 classrooms in Fika and also in Bade local government areas taking place concurrently.
“We are delighted that one of these strategies has started working, hence the vision of Governor Mai Mala Buni’s government in education is seeing the light of the day,” he stressed.
The Chairman also hinted that Yobe SUBEB has highlighted four strategies that are design to take basic education to an amiable height.
“We have outlined our strategies for growth and success as far as SUBEB is concerned. Part of it is to have a very good plan. We already have our strategic plan of which to be launched in the next two weeks at the state level.
“Secondly, we are learning from our past mistakes. We have made a lot of mistakes and Insha Allahu, one of the strategies is to learn from those mistakes and avoid repeating them.
“The third strategy is continous hard work, as there is no shortcut to success except you work hard as there is no strategy more than that.
The Yobe State Government in July last year organised an education summit at its state capital Damaturu, in what Governor Mai Mala Buni called “continous dismal performance of students of the state in all secondary learning examination.
The summit was aimed at reworking existing policies in order to engender a better learning environment in public schools.
