By Peter.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Basic Education Summit themed “Revitalising the Future of Basic Education in Nasarawa State”, NASUBEB Chairman Dr John D. C. Kasim delivered a no-holds-barred exposé on the rot uncovered in public primary schools — and the aggressive fixes already underway.
The Ugly Truth They Found
Two special committees toured schools and came back horrified:
- Windows, doors, chairs stolen and sold by community members
- Thousands of qualified teachers hiding in LGA offices instead of teaching
- Headteachers absent for entire school days
- Substandard and abandoned classroom blocks
- Zero lesson plans, zero maintenance
Dr Kasim didn’t mince words:
“Those vandalising our schools are our own people. They break chairs into pieces to hide the crime. They are enemies of Nasarawa.”
Governor Sule’s Immediate Response
- Approved 30,000 new chairs & desks (doubled from the original 15,744) — 10,000 per senatorial zone. Flag-off tomorrow at the summit.
- 1,900 “office teachers” redeployed back to classrooms; another 1,000 coming soon.
- Nine contractors sacked for shoddy/abandoned jobs — recovered funds to be announced by the governor.
- Seven new sensitisation minibuses hitting every ward to chase out-of-school children.
- Errant headteachers demoted, transferred, or sanctioned (one in Kokona LGA stood empty for an hour — zero teachers present).
The Big Plan Moving Forward
- Project AE: Leave No Child Behind — compulsory free education will be enforced. → After sensitisation, any child found roaming during school hours = parents arrested.
- Traditional rulers, politicians, Fulani leaders, clerics all roped in as enforcers.
- Teachers ordered back to professionalism: lesson plans, scheme of work, ethical conduct — or face the hammer.
Dr Kasim’s warning to teachers was ice-cold:
“Teaching is not a job you take because you have no alternative. If you destroy the future of one child, you destroy the nation.”
Tomorrow’s summit, with guest speaker Prof Tony Oredia, is expected to birth a 5-year turnaround blueprint.
Nasarawa just signalled: the era of empty classrooms and stolen chairs is over.
#NasarawaEducationSummit #LeaveNoChildBehind #BackToClassroom #SuleFixesSchools
