expect more radical reforms
By Bashir Bello
KANO – Kano State Commissioner of Education, Muhammad Sanusi Kiru has on Monday insisted that there is no going back on the government directive calling on private school owners to reduce 25% of school fees for the third term in the state.
This was also as he said the private school owners should expect more radical reforms in the state aimed at checking all forms of exploitations by the operators in order to sanitize the sector.
The Commissioner who stated this while briefing newsmen on the achievement of the ministry in the life span of one year, said it has set up an enforcement Committee to go round the state to ensure compliance of the 25% reduction.
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He further insisted that the state has done a lot for the private schools in the state hence the need for them reciprocate government gestures by reducing the school fees by 25%.
According to her, “Kano State Government is worried about the economic position and untold hardship people are facing particularly after the covid-19 lockdown and in view of that the government considers our huge investments to the private school owners in the state to also play their own role in assisting the general public. Because the decision by the state government is in the public interest.
“Majority of the members of the Association of the Private Schools Owners of Nigeria have already agreed with the decision and some said they would visit today.
“As long as I remain the Commissioner, we are going to introduce radical reforms in checkmating all forms of exploitations by the private school owners especially the aspect of forcing parents to buy uniforms and text books from their schools. We would sanitize the sector.
“An enforcement commitee has been set up to monitor the schools that refuse to comply with the 25% directive. Those rejecting the cut down are not fighting the government but the general public.
“The issue that we have not done anything for them doesn’t even arise because we are the operators of education in Kano. For the fact that we even grant them certificate, clearance, licence to operate, we have done enough for them. Because we have the perogative not to grant them approval to operate.
“Secondly, it is not true that we have not done anything for them. No state in Nigeria expended on private schools. We provided them Personal Protective Equipments, PPEs and decontaminated. It is also a palliative because this is what they were suppose to do with their money,” Kiru maintained.
The Commissioner however reeled out some of the achievement of the ministry within the life span of one year to include construction of five Mega unity schools in the five Emirates of the state in nearly completion, establishment of a federal science and technical college at Ganduje town in Dawakin Tofa local government area, and several interventions to boost the girl child education in the state among others.
