By Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
As part of efforts to improve the quality and efficient school administration in Bauchi State, a total of 891 School Base Management Committee (SBMC) members across the state have been trained on effective management of schools to meet international standards.
The training, under the Additional Financing programme, which was provided by the State Education Programme Investment Project (SEPIP), is targeting SBMC members for 297 schools in Ganjuwa, Katagum and Toro centres representing the three senatorial districts of the state.
The three-day training, which was specifically organised for SBMC chairmen, secretaries and treasurers is to enable the members plan, improve and effectively manage schools in the state.
Declaring the training open Thursday, the Chairman, Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (BASUBEB), Prof. Yahaya Ibraheem Yero, said the workshop was meant to improve the SBMC on ways to conduct and manage the school system with a view to taking over schools from the government in the near future.
Represented by the Director, Quality Assurance of BASUBEB, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim Hamza, Yero urged the SMBC members to judiciously utilise the resources of their schools effectively based on the training given to them by SEPIP.
The chairman, who emphasised the vital role of education in the socio-economic and political development of any society or nation, said: “This is the reason the state government places high premium on developing the state education sector to meet international standard.”
In a goodwill message, the Provost, College of Education, Dr Garbba Ibrahim Kirfi, called on the participants to involve the Parents’ Teachers Association (PTA) of their schools in all their activities as government would hand over the schools to the communities.
He pointed out that when the communities handled the schools effectively, the intention of government is to transfer all schools’ budget to the SBMC account as the contribution of government towards the development of the schools.
Also, in a welcome address, the representative of SEPIP and the Deputy Project Coordinator, SEPIP, Mallam Datti Umar, advised the participants to step down the training they received to other members of their various schools.
Umar disclosed that the training is specifically on additional financing, urging them to pay attention to the training by the resource persons.
The deputy project coordinator also appealed to the participants to make good use of the capacity building workshop with a view to improving the school system.
