Governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State, Muhammad Barde, has promised to pay special attention on education and ensure that all tiers of institutions are equipped with adequate manpower and conducive learning environment.
Barde noted that world class education is needed to truly empower the people adding that the best investment is in the intellectual human development which only quality education can guarantee.
In a statement released by his Media Office on Thursday in Gombe, the ex-bank chief said he has gone round the 11 local governments in the state and found out that the educational system is in a mess and needed to be cleaned up.
According to him, there are no facilities in virtually all the government owned primary and secondary schools I visited. No toilets, no water and no electricity.
He bemoaned the fact that the incumbent administration has neglected the sector and other areas of the economy that could have improved the lives of the people despite the enormous financial resources it has received.
The statement reads in parts: “I am really appalled at the situations in our public schools. I am a product of our public school system and the standards are not what it used to be and it’s shameful that there is a government that does not care about the educational needs of the people. Without education, every other empowerment is nothing. I am sad that majority of my people are out of school. If given the chance in 2019, we will invest in education and turn around this sorry state in order to ensure the prosperity of our people.
“We will empower teachers and make learning enjoyable to all the pupils and students. We will ensure that drop-out pupils returns to school and generally make living better for our people. I am a product of free education and I will ensure we do not pay lip service to it at all.”.
