The Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Saturday, vowed that his administration will ensure that every child in Kano has unhindered access to free, compulsory and qualitative education.
Ganduje said this while receiving the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Award of Excellence and Appreciation as the Father of Modern Free Education in Nigeria 2019.
The governor said his desire is to ensure that Almajiris in the state benefit from his free, compulsory basic and secondary education policy, even though most of them are children from neighbouring states.
He described the status of Kano as the state with the highest number of out-of-school children in the country, as a challenge that must be faced and defeated.
According to him, with the free school feeding programme and free education policy in place, all children in Kano now have the privilege to be educated.
He charged parents to take advantage of the ample opportunity to send their wards to school for a better future.
He appreciated the award bestowed on him by the Kano NUJ Correspondents’ Chapel, adding that, “we are happy that you identified with the heavily-loaded statement we made here in Kano, which is free, compulsory basic and secondary education for our children.
“We are happy we are sending our children to school free-of-charge. We are happy that we are sending the Almajiris to go and learn just like other children. We want to live a legacy, and we believe that journalists are our partners in progress.”
Ganduje who was visibly excited, recalled how he met and recruited his Commissioner of Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, who was two-time President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), into politics.
According to him, “I have been partnering with journalists in all my public life. My present Commissioner of Information was the Chairman of Kano Council of the NUJ when I was the Commissioner for Works.
“I tell you this story, not because he is working for me, but because he used his wealth of experience to assist me. NUJ is very important and indispensable in the art of governance.
THISDAY