The Bauchi State Government has said it has no immediate plan to return secondary schools in the state to co-education, stressing that any review of the current separation policy will be done only after wide consultations.
The Commissioner for Education, Hon. Ibrahim Abdulkadir, made the clarification on Thursday during a press briefing in Bauchi on the damage caused by a recent rainstorm to several schools across the state.
“Every blessed year, the rainy season comes with its positive and negative effects. The negative effect in this case is the rainstorms that have destroyed a number of schools in our state,” he said.
He listed the affected institutions as Government Secondary School, Madara; Government Secondary School, Hardawa; Government Secondary School, Darazo; Government Girls’ Secondary School, Tafawa Balewa; Government College, General Hassan Katsina; and Government Girls’ Secondary School, Bauchi.
According to the commissioner, the ministry has deployed an assessment team to determine the extent of damage to classrooms, hostels and other facilities.
“We have already sent out a team that is going around these schools to see the magnitude and the number of interventions needed. We will compile them and forward them to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Bauchi State, to see what remedy can be done to restore normalcy,” he said.
Hon. Abdulkadir added that temporary arrangements have been made for displaced students pending permanent repairs.
Citing Government Girls’ Secondary School, Tafawa Balewa, where four hostels were affected, he said: “We have moved them out. We have already taken care of that problem in the interim.”
He noted that videos of the damage had gone viral on social media.
The commissioner also addressed public reactions that followed his recent inspection tour, during which he spoke about the policy of separating boys and girls in state schools.
“What I said is that we should weigh the positive and the negative aspects of it,” he explained. “I did not say that we are going to merge them.” He added.
The commissioner said the inspection of Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Bauchi, revealed that 14 newly constructed classrooms were empty due to the separation policy, with some students being moved far from their homes.
“The government spent hundreds of millions constructing that infrastructure. If the policy we adopted of separating boys and girls has created out-of-school children and dropouts, what can parents cope with?” he asked. “Is it to spend almost 30,000 naira in a month on transportation, or to feed the children and take them to school?”
He stressed that no decision had been taken to reverse the policy.
“If we are going to do that, we will do it with consultation between the government, parents and our religious leaders. We will assess how positive or negative this policy has been to the education sector since it was introduced,” he said.
On concerns linking co-education to rising cases of immorality, the commissioner said: “I think we are not being fair to ourselves. Every parent has a responsibility to mould the character of his wards. You cannot say it is as a result of co-education.”
He said the ministry would submit its full assessment report to the governor for immediate intervention in the storm-hit schools.
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