The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has distributed 276,700 textbooks and exercise books to orphanage schools and centers in Borno and Yobe states.
The NEDC reported that the 3,910 pupils from the nine schools and centers were orphaned during the 13-year Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.
The commission’s Borno State Coordinator, Mohammed Umaru, said the NEDC also supported three other foundations with 950 blankets and mats, 700 wrappers, and Shadda clothes.
It was another joyous moment in Borno state, on Thursday, Feb 23, when Quranic pupils, (popularly known as Almajirai), from 4,945 Tsangaya ( Quranic schools) benefitted from Governor Babagana Zulum’s  N734 million, cash largesse, study books and food grains.
The 4,945 schools were listed from across the 27 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Borno State.Â
These massive support came from the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme with the  collaboration of Borno State Universal Basic Education Board (BOSUBED) and Borno State Arabic and Tsangaya Education Board (TEB).
The TEB regulates the almajiri schools system.
The distribution took place at the Ramat Square in Maiduguri and it was attended by thousands of Sangaya and Islamiya teachers and students.Â
Governor Zulum made a symbolic presentation of cheques of bearing the grants to beneficiaries.
The funds were to improve conditions of learning at benefiting Sangaya schools in Borno State.
Zulum explained that about 190 Islamiya and Sangaya centres, each of them with over 400 students, was allocated N300,000, 527 centres with between 201 to 400 students received N250,000 each; 2,540 centres with between 51 to 200 students received N150,000 each while 1,649 centres with 50 students and below, each received N100,000.Â
Besides the monetary support, each of the 4,945 Sangaya schools benefited from 6,330 bags and cartons of food which comprised of over 2,000 bags of rice, 1,100 bags of maize, 850 cartons of Spaghetti, 1,600 cartons of Macaroni, 480 gallons of groundnut oil and 300 gallons of palm oil.
Aside food, other materials were distributed and they included 29,480 copies of the Holy Quran, 1,800 copies of Hadith, 30,068 pieces of mats, 112,892 sets of school uniforms, 41,300 mosquito nets, 8,100 pieces of slades (allo), 424,896 pieces of exercise books and 450 packs of pencils.
Other items included 12,300 copies of books 1, 2 and 3 (Bintu wa Dal) Kanuri language textbooks, 69,300 copies of a textbook (Mukoyi Karatu Da Rubutu), 8,100 Kanuri mathematical textbooks, (Kitwu Isawube Fuwurawabe) and another 11,000 Kanuri textbooks called Kitawu Kirabe Fuwurawabe.
Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi who was represented by the northeast zonal coordinator, Abdullahi S. Jarma commended Governor Babagana Umara Zulum for his outstanding reform of basic education in Borno.
Executive Chairman, Borno State Universal Basic Education Board (BOSUBED), Prof. Bulama Kagu, and Chairman of Borno Sangaya and Islamiyya Board, Shiekh Arabi Abulfatahi, in their separate remarks, expressed appreciation to the governor, for according special attention to their establishments by approving their respective demands whenever necessary.
The event was attended by the Secretary to Borno State Government, Usman Jidda Shuwa, along with commissioners, special advisers and other top government officials.
Governor of Borno state has recently taken his campaign trail to the southern local governments of the state where he commissioned several capital projects executed by his administration in the past three years.
Top among the projects that have further endeared him more to the electorates is the mega water which has the capacity to store and distribute 1,250,000 litres of water at Mboa village in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State.
Mboa, a village is located 5km from Chibok town, The newly commissioned water project is expected to serve over 40,000 residents of not just Mboa village but also of Chibok town and neighboring communities.
Officials said the water facility has a storage capacity of a 750,000-litre surface tank and a 500,000-litre overhead tank with water sources from 20 motorised boreholes.
“Access to portable water has been one of the major challenges of Chibok town,” Zulum said.
“During our electioneering campaign, we promised you that if elected we shall address the water problems you face. This night we are here to commission a multi-million naira project which was executed to provide Chibok and its environs with water.”
Commissioner of Water Resources, Tijjani Alkali, explained that the water project is powered by 36,000 watts of solar and a 100 kva generating set.
New Schools for Damboans, Askiras
Governor Zulum’s working campaign tour moved to Gumsuri, a ward in Damboa LGA, to commission a senior secondary school on the same Monday night.
The governor commissioned a new junior secondary school in Askira town with classroom to contain about 1,000 students.
Each student of the new schools was handed art of uniforms, reading and writing materials as well as bicycles to ease transportation especially for those coming from distant places.
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The Northeast Development Commision (NEDC), has on Monday, Jan.23 began a two weeks training for public school teachers in the six states of the northeast zone of Nigeria.
The training is part of de commission’s agenda to rekindle learning in public schools that have been destroyed by the years of armed conflict in the region.
The training programme was being funded by Education Endowment Fund (EEF) unit of the NEDC.
The board chairman of NEDC-EEF, Asma’u Mohammed, informed that 1,800 teachers had been trained in the first phase, and another 1,800 are to be trained in the second phase for two weeks.
Hajia Asma’u also disclosed further that the Board and Management of the Commission have developed and completed the implementation of other programmes to address critical needs like “Provision of classrooms, desks and essential learning materials to support the resuscitation of the comfortable learning environment at the basic educational level, in each of the 112 Local Government Areas of the North East, and a Phase 2 of the project is about to commence.
“In the first phase of our teacher training, 1800 teachers (300 per State) were trained over a one-week period,” she said.
Hajiya Asma’u said stemming from the feedback received, and lessons learnt from the appraisal of the first outing, the duration of the training has been increased to two weeks with more emphasis on core subject areas.
“Additionally, to ensure more attention on teachers, we limited the slots for administrative staff to only 15 each for the Primary and Junior Secondary School segments.
“To guarantee value for money, we have enshrined 13 cardinal points, ranging from quality of training manuals, method of delivery, and strict monitoring of attendance of the participants, amongst others. Upon this, our consultants will be assessed to determine their effectiveness and prospects for future engagement by us.
“This will surely complement the NEDC and in no distant future immensely contribute towards achieving the strategic objectives of the Commission.”
The facilitating firm for the training of the 300 teachers in Borno state, LIMO Holdings, Nigeria Limited, said the participants are to be trained in Borno state for two weeks.
The CEO of LIMO Holdings, Dr Lawan Bukar Alhaji, noted that the exact number of participants are spread across the other five states of the subregion.
The Managing Director and CEO of NEDC, Goni Alkali, who declared the workshop open, was represented by a General Manager at the Commission, Saadatu Shehu.
The MD said, “the two weeks training was in line with the Commission’s core mandate, which is to tackle all manners of illiteracy in the northeast in its quest to achieve enhanced human capacity and capital development in the region through scholarships.”
“As earlier mentioned, short term capacity building improvement of basic education has been the reason the EEF was created under the humanitarian directory to ensure excellent learning and teaching in our educational institutions.
“The two weeks capacity building for the teachers is an intervention strategy, and it is expected that the teachers will be motivated for self-efficacy and performances.”
The EEF Board of Trustees was inaugurated on the 7th of August 2020 as a specialised body that could fast-track NEDC’s intervention in the education sub-sector in the North East Geo-political zone, which has been ravaged by the over a decade-old Boko Haram insurgency.
According to a report by The Humanitarian Times, the 13-year-old armed conflict in the northeast has claimed the lives of well over 2,295 teachers and destroyed more than 1,400 classrooms across the northeast region.
This attack on the public education system has adversely impacted both the quality of learning and diminished access to education in the northeast.Â
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The University of Maiduguri has released a list of 37 unpardonable offences that can lead to suspension and 18 of them are related to “indecent dressing” by students.
The list, which has already generated a lot of public debate, also include suspension of a student nursing mother reside in the hostel or takes her child to the classroom.
But the ones that are generating excitement is the list of offences around indecent dressing. For these 18 offences a student found guilty or in breach could be suspended for two semesters or less.
The rule says “Having multi-colour braid for female earns one semester suspension.
Offenses And PunishmentÂ
Borno state governor Babagana Zulum has authorized the allocation of 30 hectares of land for the establishment of two training institutes recently approved to be cited in his state, a statement from his office said.
The approved 30 hectares land will accommodate the proposed Industrial Equipment and Machinery Development Institute (IEMDI) and a Skill Acquisition Institute that we’re approved recently by President Muhammadu Buhari, for siting in Borno State.Â
Mr Zulum gracioudly gave the directive for the allocation of the land on Friday, Jan. 13 when the Executive Vice Chairman of the National Agency For Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Professor Mohammed Haruna, paid him a visit in Maiduguri.
The governor directed that the 30 hectares of land needed for the two projects be allocated, the next day, Saturday, Jan.14 and all documentation be completed within one week.
The governor said “Government of Borno State will provide all the necessary support for the establishment of IEMDI and the Skill Acquisition Institute projects.”
“I have therefore directed 30 hectares of land allocated to NASENI tomorrow (Saturday) and all the necessary documents presented in one week”, Zulum added.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Professor Haruna, had earlier informed the governor that Borno got approvals in recognition of Zulum’s sterling performance.
“Your Excellency (Governor Zulum), I have these glad tidings for you from Mr President. The President has approved the location (Borno) for establishment of the Industrial Equipment and Machinery Development Institute (IEMDI),” he said.
“The President has also approved the establishment of the Skills Development Institute. These are as a result of your excellent performance.”
He explained that the development institute was aimed at researching, designing and manufacturing tools, machines, processing, and equipment that will fast-track the establishment of cottage industries.
The institute, he added, will produce spare parts of all equipment that will ensure industrialization not only of Borno but the entire northeast.
On the Skill Acquisition Institute, Professor Haruna said more young persons without formal education will have avenues to acquire skills that can make them become self-reliant.
The NASENI executive vice chairman informed Governor Zulum that President Buhari has approved skills- development training of 100 youths to be selected from all the 27 LGAs, on vulcanizing and modern plumbing.Â
He said after training, each trainee will receive starter pack that will contain modern kits.
Bay States News