Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara, Zamfara Commissioner for Information, said that 115 primary and secondary schools have resumed academic activities after about five months of closure, caused by insecurity across the state.
Dosara disclosed this while reviewing the security situation and other developments on Sunday in Gusau.
He said that 75 of the schools, categorised as GREEN and mostly located within the state capital and 40 others categorised as YELLOW and located in local government headquarters, reopened for classes as they were no longer under any form of security threats.
He, however, noted that the state government is taking necessary security measures to ensure the safety of pupils and students in 85 other schools, mostly in communities and tagged the RED category before they are reopened.
“We shall reopen them when the security situation in those areas improves,” Dosara said.
The commissioner explained that the schools remained closed for several months in the light of incessant attacks on innocent children by bandits.
He said the bandits went bent on destabilizing the whole system and discourage educational pursuit in the state.
“Therefore, we had to close all schools to save our innocent children from being abducted as it happened at Secondary School, Kaya, in the Maradun Local Government area.
“However, with the measures now taken to check the activities of bandits, the security operatives have reversed the trend.
“The bandits are now put on the defensive as our security offensive has increased.
“The state government deems it fit to reopen our schools and make all the necessary arrangements for all children to go back to school with the utmost care to be taken to avoid attacks,” he said.
According to him, Gov. Bello Matawalle graciously agreed to employ 100 teachers who have since been engaged.
Dosara said the newly-recruited teachers are undergoing documentation to resume immediately to support pupils and students recover lost time on the school calendar.
“They will start enjoying their salaries from this month, just as they will immediately be posted to our various secondary schools in the state to fill in the gaps of teacher-student ratio in the schools.
“The emergency recruitment was done as part of a plan to quickly make up for the missed term while simultaneously addressing the dearth of teaching staff in some subjects,” he said.
The Ministry of Education, he added, had been tasked with devising a strategy for the schools to make up for what was lost as a result of the closure.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that more than 320 students and pupils of three schools were abducted by the bandits, forcing that state government to close all schools on September 2, 2021.
The state government, on January 16, however, announced the reopening of the schools in phases following improved security across the state.
(NAN)
