The Sokoto State government says over N3 billion has been spent in renovating tertiary institutions in the state.
Making this known in a chat with Journalists in Sokoto, the Commissioner for Higher Institutions, Aminu Abdullahi, said the rehabilitation work is part of the present administration’s effort to improve the standard of education in the state.
He said, “We have spent good money on the rehabilitation of dilapidated structures in our institutions…. to date about N3 billion.
“Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto understands that education is a key driver of economic growth and development. And that education promotes critical learning, innovation and that for children from poor backgrounds it is the best guarantee for their upward mobility. This explains why revitalizing the educational sector is one of his 9-Point Smart Agenda.”
The Commissioner further said that the state government paid as much as N70 million to National Universities Commissioner (NUC) in order settle accreditation challenges for some courses.
“For accreditation the cost is huge. For some courses we paid N35 million and for others N70 million. …it depended on the course. Thankfully accreditation is once in five (5) years,so we have some breathing space. So far virtually all our institutions have had their courses accredited and the cost is running into millions of naira. Some few months back we paid the NUC about N100 million for courses being run at the State University and they were very impressed with our governor for his efforts in running a university that is truly a center of learning and research. In fact they followed up with a letter of appreciation to the governor. The governor on his part is extremely happy because he is seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I can tell you for free that the university surpassed the NUC conditions, and that we didn’t cut corners ….we adhered to their guidelines,” he added.
