By John Shiklam
The Kaduna State Government has approved the disbursement of N81 million grant to 13 researchers to study the various aspects of reforms in the education sector initiated by Governor Nasir El Rufai’s administration.
The Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, disclosed this in a statement in Kaduna Thursday.
Adekeye said the decision was taken at the State Executive Council meeting which held at the Government House, Kaduna.
He said the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Shehu Muhammad, briefed the council that 13 proposals were selected from a total of 75 that were submitted in October 2020, following an advertisement for interested researchers to submit proposals.
Adekeye said: “Scholars were invited to assess the education sector in Kaduna State in the light of ongoing reforms and to help improve knowledge on issues such as access to education, the quality provided and the trajectory of human capital development in the state.”
According to him, the proposals were evaluated by a 12-member committee, chaired by Prof. Ben Chindo of Kaduna State University (KASU).
Adekeye said after a religious rigorous screening, the committee selected 13 research proposals for the award of grants.
According to the statement, the selected research projects are expected to be completed within nine months, after which the state Ministry of Education will organize a conference to present the findings.
Adekeye further said the successful research proposals covered topics such as Higher Education and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Impact of ICT on Learning Outcomes and the Development of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), e-Literacy Platform for Secondary Education in Kaduna State.
He said: “Since 2015, the El-Rufai government has pursued a policy of promoting equality of opportunity through investments in human capital development.
“This has prioritized education and health in budgetary allocations, and has manifested in decisive actions such as making the first 12 years of schooling free and compulsory, renovation of schools, building of more classrooms and the replacement of 21,780 unqualified teachers with 25,000 qualified primary school teachers.”
