The Executive Chairman of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board, Kassim Muhammad-Kassim, has pledged to recover all chairs and desks allegedly sold by some education secretaries and headmasters to private schools.
Muhammad-Kassim made the pledge in Lafia on Wednesday during a maiden meeting with Education Secretaries from across the 13 Local Governments and 18 Development Areas of the state.
He expressed dismay that government provisions for students’ comfort were being diverted and sold to private schools by education secretaries and headmasters.
Our students cannot be sitting on the floor while headmasters and education secretaries sell furniture we provide.
“I have visited schools and seen firsthand how children sit on floors, yet records show furniture was provided. I will not tolerate this under my administration,” he said.
The NSUBEB Chairman further informed the education secretaries that he had contacted the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations to join his team in identifying and recovering the government’s furniture from private schools.
He emphasised that it would no longer be business as usual, and the board under his leadership would focus on rural schools to ensure that they are well equipped.
Muhammad-Kassim also instructed the education secretaries not to make illegal deductions from teachers’ salaries, except on disciplinary grounds, which the board must be aware of, stressing that all illegal deductions should cease immediately.
He stated that he was appointed by Governor Abdullahi Sule to reform the education sub-sector, expressing determination to achieve his mandate, even if it meant making unpopular decisions.
He further directed the education secretaries not to allocate school lands to small business ventures without the board’s permission, citing instances where individuals claimed school lands for personal use.
He also announced plans to establish a maintenance unit in each local government to protect and safeguard SUBEB properties, warning that poorly executed contracts would be revoked and contractors’ payments withheld until satisfactory work is completed.
We cannot renovate a school this year and have the same structures renovated next year. It indicates a problem in the initial contractor’s work. We will not pay contractors until we are satisfied with the quality of work,” he added.
Kassim Muhammad-Kassim also directed the immediate redeployment of 1,300 administrative staff out of a total of 3,422 across the 13 local governments and 18 development areas of the state to classrooms.
He emphasised that the government does not have to experience a shortage of teachers while administrative departments have an abundance of qualified teachers as staff.
The Board will not tolerate a situation where there are numerous supervisors in urban areas while rural schools lack teachers, so the 1,300 redeployed teachers will be posted to rural schools,” he said.
On recruitment, the NSUBEB chairman explained that he had received approval from the Governor to recruit 4,800 qualified teachers for primary schools, revealing that the recruitment drive is tagged “Recruitment of Teachers in Rural Areas.”
He further emphasised that applicants should be prepared to serve in rural areas, affirming that no newly recruited teacher will be posted to any of the urban areas in the state.
