Billy Graham Abel, Yola
The Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has reeled out a series of institutional reforms in the state aimed at addressing the particularly the deplorable state of education and other challenges in the state.
Among the reforms initiated by the governor is the immediate commencement of free school-feeding programme in nine secondary schools within the state capital with a view to implementing the project in about 58 boarding secondary schools in the state at the commencement of the new school calendar year in September 2019.
This was made known at a press briefing, on Friday, by the Director-General, Media and Communications to the Governor, Solomon Kumangar, in Yola.
Kumangar said, the Fintiri-led government is poised to declare education free and compulsory in the state and that would be preceded by the renovations of about 5,000 secondary schools within six months.
Kumangar said: “The Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has taken steps to revamp education as part of his poverty-reduction and empowerment agenda which is yielding salutary results.
“The governor has not only ensured free feeding for nine junior and senior secondary schools within the state capital but the programme will be expanded to cover 58 boarding secondary schools beginning from September 2019, as the new school year.”
He explained that, “sequel to declaring free and compulsory education to shore up enrolment and halting the high-level of drop outs, the government has set as a target – the rehabilitation of 5,000 secondary schools in the next six months in the first instance.
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“Furthermore, he has directed the payment of matching grant to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to access N8.2 billion Universal Basic Education Stimulus.”
Kumangar explained that the governor is committed to making Adamawa State work again and reversing the downward slide education in the state had suffered in the last four years.
Speaking on the government’s progress, he said Fintiri has, “started a stimulus package by pumping money into the civil service and off-setting two-months salary arrears of workers.
“He has managed to do this without imposing any debt burden on the state.
“In general administration, the governor has moved to revamp local government councils after eight years of near dormancy by granting them full autonomy.
“The governor has sent in Executive Bill to amend the Adamawa State Local Governments Administration law 2004, to pave way for the Constitution of a Transition Committees which will include at least one woman each for all the 21 LGAs.
“He has also directed directors, General Services and Administration, to clean-up their wage bills of ghost workers beginning from April 2016.”