By Salim Umar Ibrahim, Kano
Kano state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has approved the expansion and creation of new Zonal Education Directorate s across some MDA’s under the State Ministry of Education.
Disclosing the new development, the State Commissioner of Education Malam Muhammad Sanusi Sa’id Kiru said, that it was as a result of an Executive Memo presented to the Governor by the ministry on the need for the additional Zonal Directorates.
In a statement issued by the ministry Public Relations Officer, Aliyu Yusuf, disclosed that the creation of the additional zones became necessary considering the need for ensuring efficient monitoring and evaluation, quality control, digitization of data collation and analysis.
Other reasons according to him are the needs for additional revenue generation drive as well as optimum utilisation of human resources especially those recently deployed to the education sector.
“It is to be noted that with the introduction of Free and Compulsory Basic & Secondary Education in the State, the sector is currently witnessing increased pupils and students enrolment in our public primary and secondary schools, massive construction of new schools and rehabilitation of dilapidated ones in addition to the recent deployment of more than 11,000 teachers to primary and secondary schools” he stressed.
The need therefore to expand the administrative management of these institutions, he said, cannot be overemphasized, as some new MDA’s that were operating without Zonal structures were however provided with new ones.
The new and additional zonal directorates across the affected MDA’s were as follows: KSSSMB from 14 to 23, SUBEB from 10 to 15, State Agency for Mass Education from 10 to 15, Kano State Library Board now have 3, Science and Technical Schools Board now have 3 while Kano State Private and Voluntary Institutiins Board jumped from 5 to 7.
With this new development, the over 7,000 and 1,330 public primary and secondary schools as well as the over 4,000 private schools in the state would be effectively provided with the needed monitoring and evaluation and quality control for excellent service delivery.
The Commissioner, therefore enjoined all staff in the ministry to see the new development as another milestone and catalyst for the improvement of the sector in the state.
He also warned that the ministry under his leadership will not hesitate to deal decisively with any staff found wanting in the discharge of his or her responsibilities.