Kano State governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has launched the Global Partnership for Education/Nigeria Partnership for Education Project, GPE/NIPEP in the state, to actualize its education agenda.
The Kano Education Strategic Plan details numerous targets revolving around five main areas namely, ensuring equitable access to basic education through addressing both supply and demand factors, improving educational quality through reducing class sizes, increasing the availability of instructional materials, and improving teacher quality.
It also entails expanding technical and vocational opportunities relevant to the needs of industry and local communities, increasing education financing and introducing school grants to support school development as well as ensuring that all schools have school development plans, school-based committees, and boards of governors to improve school governance.
Speaking during the occasion, Governor Ganduje explained that the GPE/NIPEP grant of $27. 346 million to Kano “will significantly complement our efforts in resuscitating the sector from many of its inadequacies”.
While assuring that the government would work closely with all the agencies involved in the project to ensure maximum success, he disclosed that his administration has recently released a matching grant of N876, 756, 756. 76 to enable it receive an equivalent amount from the Federal government for the execution of Universal Basic Education projects throughout the state.
“Similarly, the state government has paid the sum of N1. 2 billion as counterpart contribution for the Strategic Development Goals (SDGs) projects for the years 2015 and 2016, which we have declared the entire allocation for investment into basic education”, the governor asserted.
The state Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar highlighted that the GPE grant is to be used to increase access and quality of basic education with particular attention to girls’ education.