Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina state has expressed his disappointment with the conduct and performance of some of the policy drivers in tertiary institutions in the state, attributing that lamentable state of affairs to the dictates of political correctness, rather than result, which seems to always influence the appointment of heads of these citadels of learning in the state.
Receiving the report of the Justice Saddiq AbdullLahi Mahuta White Paper Committee on the Visitation Panel’s Report on Tertiary Institutions in the state on Thursday, Governor Masari said Katsina State did not have the time to waste on political considerations in matters effecting education, asserting that it is what dragged the state down to the bottom rung of the education ladder among the states in the country.
“We must avoid doing things simply to pander to political correctness. We do not have the time for that in Katsina. In matters of education; we must always put a square peg in a square hole. The interest of the state must always guide our choice of those who head our tertiary institutions.
“Katsina, which used to blaze the trail in the North, has now become a very poor apology in terms of performance in education, and this is not unconnected with the considerations that guide the choice of those into whose hands we entrust the fate of our educational institutions, especially at the tertiary level.
“With the cooperation and support of one and all, especially the elite, we are determined to do the right thing to expand the frontiers of the education sector in Katsina, because no society develops beyond the level of the education of its citizens. We have the willpower, the commitment and focus to put Katsina state back to where it used to be in matters of education, and by the grace of Allah we will pull all the stops to ensure that we do just that. We are not after the momentary applause of today, our focus is what becomes Katsina State in the next 20 years and beyond, which is why education shall always remain our priority”.
In his remarks earlier, the Chairman of the Committee and former Chief Judge of Katsina State, Justice Mahuta had observed that the conduct of some of the heads of the tertiary institutions in the state left much to be desired, advising the government to take all the necessary measures to address the rot threatening the establishments.