The Kaduna State House of Assembly last Wednesday asked Governor Muhktar Yero to declare a State of Emergency in the education sector, to save it from total collapse.

The call, followed the adoption of the report of the House Commitee on Education, which was mandated in December 2011 to assess the condition of primary and secondary school education in the state.

Chairman of the committee, Alhaji Yunusa Mohammed, said the sector was facing serious challenges and required special intervention.

Mohammed said that the committee had in the course of its investigation, discovered that 43 per cent of teachers in the state were unqualified.

According to him, out of the 38, 800 teachers, greater number of teachers  are not qualified to teach, while those qualified have been posted to schools in the urban centres.

He said most schools lack adequate teachers, class rooms, offices and furniture, adding that the situation was worse in Sanga and Birnin Gwari local government areas.

On secondary education, the chairman said the 527 secondary schools in the state have only 8,396 teachers and 824 non teaching staff.

He said the number was inadequate to meet the educational needs of students, adding that this had contributed to the poor performance of student in WAEC and NEC0 examinations.

Our correspondent reports that the lawmakers were unanimous in adopting the report.

The sitting, presided by the Speaker, Alhaji Muazu Gangara, agreed that the state government should declare a state of emergency in the sector, so as to equip the schools, retrain the teachers and provide basic infrastructure for learning.

Earlier in his contribution, Alhaji Balarabe Jigo, representing Kakangi constituency, described the high number of unqualified teachers as “a hazard to attaining quality education”.

Another member, Alhaji Bala Yunusa representing Tudun Wada constituency, called for thorough investigation to determine how funds appropriated to the sector were managed.

Mr Kantiok Irimiya, representing Zonkwa constituency, argued that unless policy makers are compelled to enrol their children in public schools, the situation would only get worse.

“If policy makers do not enrol their children in those schools we are going back to square zero,” he said.