Katsina offers secondary schools N4.4bn grants

The Katsina State Government has partnered with the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment to disburse N4.4 bn grants to 100 secondary schools in the state.

The event was held on Wednesday in GSSS Doro, Bindawa Local Government Area of the state.

The fund, which will be allocated towards the renovation of an additional 100 junior and senior secondary schools across the state as part of the ‘Large Grant – Phase II initiative,’ seeks to improve the quality of education and development in the state.

The state governor Dikko Radda, expressed his government’s commitment to improving the educational infrastructure in the state, adding that his administration will ensure that students are provided with a conducive learning environment.

This was disclosed in a Wednesday tweet by the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Digital Media, Isah Miqdad.

The governor’s aide stated that the Dikko Raddah-led administration “will not relent to achieve excellence in education and to provide students with well-equipped classrooms and facilities that encourage learning and foster creativity.”

Also speaking, the Commissioner, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Hadiza Yaradua, said the N44 million given to each of the beneficial schools is aimed to address the challenges faced by many schools, such as dilapidated structures, lack of appropriate classroom furniture, and inadequate learning materials.

“She said the disbursement is the fourth of its kind, starting from small grants given to all 578 junior and senior secondary schools last year, large grant phase I given to 188 schools, mega grants given to 15 schools, and now the second phase of a large grant to 100 schools.

“She said the grant disbursement is used to upgrade and improve school infrastructure, including the renovation of classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and administrative blocks,” the tweet read in parts.

Also speaking, the state coordinator of AGILE, Dr. Mustapha Shehu, revealed that the collaboration between the Katsina government and AGILE highlights the importance of partnerships in achieving sustainable educational development.

He said the AGILE project is committed to improving education for all, with particular attention to the needs of adolescent girls.

He added that the intervention of the project has seen the construction of about 150 new secondary schools and recruited and trained no fewer than 2,000 teachers within two years.

The tweet further stated that the event was attended by the Chairman of Bindawa LGA, the District Head of Bindawa, traditional rulers and religious leaders, amongst others.