Katsina Govt introduces action plan to standardise public school teaching – Commissioner

The state Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Hajiya Zainab Musa-Musawa, made this known during an interactive session with newsmen in Katsina.

According to her, the plans would ensure every school operates under the same structure, eliminating the disorganisation previously caused by individual school-based practices.

“We discovered that schools were operating under different systems.

”This action plan will unify their structure, streamline operations, and make supervision easier and more effective,” she stated.

She also announced the launch of the upgraded students’ census programme, and the digital data collection in all public schools.

Musa-Musawa, said the census programme was in line with educational reforms under Gov. Dikko Radda’s administration.

“Every public school will receive a students’ annual census book, capable of recording detailed data for 3,000 pupils, including names, guardians, NINs, disabilities, blood groups, and educational history.

“Each pupil will be assigned a unique identifier, and their data will be uploaded onto the State Education Management Information System (SEMIS).

“The census will be conducted through trained Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) officers at school and local government levels.

“Hard and soft copies of the data will be stored, making this the first comprehensive student data archive in the state,” the commissioner said.

She noted that as part of efforts to improve accountability and efficiency, the ministry has introduced an automated monitoring and evaluation system.

The commissioner said  about 300 tablets were provided, equipped with specialised applications, for the monitoring officers to gather real-time data during school visits.

“This digital system replaces manual reporting and enables immediate feedback through our central management information system,” she said.

The commissioner also said that School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs), zonal quality assurance offices, and top officials from the ministry, including herself, are actively involved in school monitoring.

Musa-Musawa also addressed the decision to conduct examinations immediately after resumption for the second term, citing an existing 2022 state law prohibiting academic activities during the Ramadan period.

“To comply with both this law and the national 12-week term requirement, the second term was adjusted by eight weeks before Ramadan and resumed on April 7, to complete the remaining weeks.

“The ongoing second-term exams will conclude before transitioning into third-term learning, which will last 15 weeks,” the Commissioner explained.

The commissioner also announced the introduction of the ‘Farm to Kitchen’ initiative, designed to revive the tradition of school farming, aimed to inculcate agricultural skills and entrepreneurship in students.

“In partnership with the First Lady’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Young Farmers Club, the programme will begin in boarding schools across the three senatorial districts.

“Our goal is for all 43 boarding schools in the state to produce the food they consume in their kitchens,” she explained.