Kaduna to spend N11bn on school infrastructure

The Kaduna State Government has awarded N11 billion contracts for schools renovation and provision of furniture, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Dr Shehu Adamu, has said.

Adamu said while briefing newsmen in Kaduna on Thursday, that N7 billion would be spent on the renovation of 420 secondary schools, while N4 billion was for the provisions of furniture.

According to him, the state has a total of 4, 225 primary schools and 524 secondary schools, most of which are dilapidated.

“The contracts entails the complete renovation of the schools, construction of toilets facilities, provision of solar-powered motorize boreholes with overhead tanks, and construction of new classes where necessary.

“For the furniture, the contracts were awarded for the provision of more than 770,000 units of furniture to be distributed across the state.

“Some contractors have already completed their projects and handed them over to the government, while distribution of furniture has begun particularly in some renovated schools”.

He stressed that the schools’ renovation and furniture requirements were “very huge” and would take time to complete.

“It is a daunting task given our meagre resources, but it is a task we hope to accomplish before the end of our tenure, “ the commissioner stated.

Adamu said the ministry would carry out a survey to ascertain the actual number of students in the state’s public schools.

He said that the survey would be carried out by the State Directorate of Statistics, the ministry’s Department of Research and Statistics, and the National Population Commission.

“The actual number of pupils and students in our public schools is fluctuating due the huge enrolment recorded after the declaration of free basic education and free meal for primary pupils.

“Therefore, we want to know the actual number of students, number of teachers and facilities required, with a view to effectively transform the education sector.”

Guardians