From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
At least 48,300 female students in Jigawa State have received free school uniforms, 15,000 school bags, 40,000 sanitary pads, 4,000 sets of writing materials, and 40,000 exercise books as part of a targeted educational intervention by the state government.
Jigawa State Governor, Malam Umar Namadi, announced the package while officially flagging off the distribution ceremony at Girls Science Secondary School in Jahun.
Governor Namadi explained that the initiative aligns with his administration’s priority to create a conducive learning environment, boost student retention, reduce gender disparities, and improve overall academic performance across the state.
By providing these materials, the state government aims to relieve financial burdens on families and ensure education remains a reliable pathway to productive, sustainable development.
“Today’s occasion marks a very important education-sector intervention we are implementing to specifically strengthen access, retention, and completion of a full course of schooling for our children, with special attention to the education of the girl-child.
“This initiative speaks directly to one of the major commitments I made in my inaugural address, which is accelerating the pursuit of human development services, guided by the Sustainable Development Goals and driven by our conviction that every child deserves functional, inclusive, and qualitative education,” he stated.
He emphasized that investment in education is not merely an expense, but a strategic commitment to Jigawa’s future.
The governor noted ongoing efforts to improve infrastructure, enhance teacher quality, assist vulnerable learners, expand opportunities for female students, and integrate Qur’anic and Tsangaya learners into an inclusive skills-based curriculum.
Citing data from the Federal Ministry of Education’s 2024 Annual School Census, Governor Namadi stated that Jigawa State recorded 1,642,807 learners across 4,568 reporting schools.
The data reflected learner-to-teacher and learner-to-classroom ratios of 63.6:1 and 77.6:1 respectively, with female students accounting for roughly 49.5% of total enrolment.
While preliminary data from the 2025 census shows positive trends, the governor stressed that these figures highlight a growing demand for education, requiring equitable teacher deployment and targeted support for students at risk of drop-out due to poverty or social exclusion.
Addressing the long-standing challenge of out-of-school children, Governor Namadi referenced past joint surveys with development partners such as UNICEF, affirming his administration’s determination to remove barriers preventing children from reaching their full potential.
He highlighted recent progress in addressing teacher shortages through targeted recruitment, continuous training, and balanced deployment policies across basic and post-basic schools.
Beyond the post-basic materials distributed in Jahun, the governor announced that contracts have been awarded to supply educational support items for basic education levels.
This phase includes 22,500 sets of uniforms for Junior Secondary Schools and 11,000 sets for nomadic schools, alongside supplementary bags, sandals, boxes, and exercise books.
Governor Namadi instructed all executing agencies to ensure transparency, accurate targeting, and prompt delivery so that the items reach their intended beneficiaries across the state.
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