Niger To Renovate 534 Public Schools, Warns Against Corporal Punishment   

Niger State government is set to renovate 534 secondary schools in the state to ensure quality education.

Niger State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr Hadiza Asabe Mohammed, who disclosed this, also warned teachers of Public Primary and Secondary Schools in the state to desist from administering corporal punishment to pupils and students under their care.

The commissioner disclosed this at a one-day capacity-building workshop on Grievance Redress Mechanisms (GRM) and Gender-Based Violence Desk Officers in Public Schools, organised by the Ministry for Basic and Secondary Education and held at the NUT House in Minna.

The commissioner, represented by the director general of Schools and Education Reforms, Hajiya Maimuna Muhammad, appealed to parents in the state to support girls’ education so that they can harness their potential and contribute to nation-building.

The commissioner maintained that teachers’ welfare remains paramount under Governor Muhammad Umar Bago’s leadership and, therefore, called on the participants to practice the knowledge acquired during the workshop.

In her remarks, the state coordinator of Adolescent Girls Initiatives For Learning And Empowerment (AGILE), Hajiya Maimuna Ibrahim Tahir,

represented by the deputy coordinator, Mal. Salisu Danjuma said the capacity building workshop was designed to equip the desk officers with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to effectively manage and respond to grievances and cases of gender-based violence in their respective schools.

He noted that the role of the desk officers in the schools is crucial in ensuring that schools are a safe, inclusive, healthy environment for all students, especially those who are vulnerable to gender-based violence.

According to her, AGILE is committed to creating a brighter future for all students of public schools in the state.

In his goodwill message, the state NUT chairman, Comrade Akayago Adamu Muhammad, noted that it has been a long time since schools in Niger State experienced this kind of gesture.