The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has pledged to renovate 72-year-old Shekal Primary and Junior Secondary School in Bauchi.
The school is among the oldest School established by Europeans since 1948.
Managing Director of the Commission Mohammed Ali Goni disclosed this in Bauchi after he inspected the classes and premises of the school.
He said the commission will build six new classrooms and equip them with furnitures and renovate the dilapidated structures as well as build boreholes in the school as part of their contribution to the development of education in the state.
Goni said the commission will also take two projects to each local government area of the state depending on what they needed most in their area.
He said “before we embarked on any project, it is good to come and see what is on the ground. And from what we have seen, like the a Hausa proverb says ‘Gani Ya kori Ji’ i.e. , seeing is believing.
“I heard a lot of stories about the school, now that we have seen the school we are going to work on it.”
The Chairman of Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Dr Abubakar Sirimbai Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi thanked the NEDC for their concern and their good intention to renovate the school which will help a lot in addressing the problems of shortage of classrooms, lack of access water, toilets and other problems in the school.
Dr Sirimbai said government had built additional three classroom blocks when he assumed duty last year and commended Governor Bala Mohammed for doing everything possible to address the problems bedeviled education in Bauchi.
“The NEDC came at a time when the government needs intervention from genuine commission. Recently the state Governor Bala Mohammed approved over N8 billion for the renovations and constructions of new blocks of classrooms in the state for 2017 2018 and 2019 SUBEB UBEC projects, apart from many interventions outside the projects” he said.
Earlier, the Headmaster of the school Mallam Yahuza Abdulkadir said the school has 2,879 students in both Primary and Junior Secondary School with 63 teachers.
He added that the first block of class room in the school was built in 1948 by Europeans, while in 2008 a block of class room was gutted by fire which destroyed all students records.
The Principal of the Junior Secondary School Isma’ila Iliyasu Manga said they have 1, 475 students, with 56 teachers.
The duo said the schools face problems of inadequate classrooms, lack of fence round the school, lack of adequate furniture, adding that they need potable water and toilet facilities.
