The Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has announced a plan to introduce afternoon primary and secondary education system in an effort to address the increasing rate of out-of-school children. The announcement came on Monday during his inauguration speech after being sworn in for a second term.
While delivering his speech in Maiduguri, the Governor explained that despite efforts to build new schools and expand existing ones, the issue of congestion persists, with thousands of school-aged children still out of school.
To address this issue, Zulum announced plans to commence afternoon primary and secondary schools, with the implementation committee responsible for identifying pilot schools in Maiduguri that have good lighting systems.
The Governor also directed the Head of Service to identify well-certificated staff currently redundant in government secretariats who could be trained on school orientation and deployed for non-teaching positions in afternoon schools.
In addition, Governor Zulum plans to recruit 5,000 teachers during his second term of office to improve the standard of education in Borno State, while also reintroducing mock examinations in secondary schools.
The Governor stated that in order to ensure the success of the afternoon schools, security measures will be put in place, with classes potentially extending to early evening hours. The establishment of centers of excellence will also be a priority, in order to provide opportunities for less privileged children to reach their potential.
With this initiative, the Government of Borno State is taking a step towards ensuring that more children receive quality education and are given the opportunity to reach their full potential, while addressing the issue of out-of-school children in the state.
