Governor Dauda Lawal has urged the Zamfara State Ministry of Education, agencies and school management to focus on maintaining renovated facilities of all government institutions.
The Governor spoke on Wednesday at the commissioning of the remodelled Government Girls’ Arabic School (GGAS) Gusau.
A statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, said key structures at the school were identified and renovated, including two administration blocks, four blocks of eight classrooms, eight offices, a students’ kitchen, 20 Racca classrooms, a dining area and a school orchard.
The statement added that the remodelled structures include laboratories, an ICT centre, stores, a library, a mosque, 14 student toilets, four staff toilets, four-story students’ buildings, a matron house, a hostel gate and a security gate.
In his remarks, Governor Lawal reiterated that the renovation of schools is a testament to the successes achieved in pursuing his administration’s declaration of a state of emergency in education.
He said, “As we are aware, this school is one of the oldest schools in this part of the country, where learners are trained to become teachers.
“Today, we have remodelled it to become a comprehensive secondary school offering science, arts, ICT and commercial subjects.
“Due to the dilapidated nature of the environment and the fire incident that damaged parts of the students’ hostels, the objective of establishing the school was not being achieved.
“As such, in pursuit of the mission of our administration to improve the standard of education at all levels, we deemed it necessary to renovate and transform the school to make it serve its primary purpose.
“The contract was initially awarded in January 2024 to an indigenous company for renovating five blocks of students’ hostels that were completely burnt down due to the fire incident.
“After rebuilding the burnt hostels, we determined the need to renovate the school, and the contract was extended to cover all other structures.
“Furthermore, the renovation was carried out within a contract of 13 months, with all the mechanical and electrical services throughout the school. Both phases 1 and 2 of the contracts are 100 per cent complete.
“These constitute 94 different structures executed satisfactorily following the contract agreement and specifications.”
The Governor also noted that the renovated school and ongoing renovations at various boarding schools throughout the state reflect his commitment to restoring the glory of educational institutions in the state.