Katsina State Governor, Umaru Dikko Radda, has raised the alarm that terrorists and bandits have taken over a number of schools in 21 out of the 34 local government areas of the state.
Describing his administration’s commitment to education development as unwavering, Radda noted that government had in the past six months spent about N2billion for the rehabilitation of 361 schools and constructed 75 secondary schools under the AGILE programme.
Radda spoke on Saturday at the sixth and seventh combined convocation ceremony of the Federal University Dutsinma (FUDMA), Katsina State.
According to Radda, “we will focus on total education reform with the establishment of an Education Services Delivery Unit to ensure quality assurance and monitoring and evaluation of our education system.
“My government will also conduct a comprehensive baseline assessment of all primary and secondary schools to ensure that our investments are data-driven and the objectives are clearly measured.
“My administration has made out-of-school children a main priority and we will continue to work with all partners to reduce the numbers.
“We will also work with religious schools to provide academic tools for students in a bid to prepare them for the world ahead.
“There is no education without security as many of our frontline local governments have had their schools closed due to banditry and in some cases, the schools have become a den for bandits.
“This is why we established the Katsina State Community Watch Corps to fight insecurity and create a foundation for our youths to learn and thrive.”