Niger State Government To Provide Free Transportation To Public School Pupils

***Charges Neco On More Corporate Social Responsibilities

Niger State government is to provide free transportation for pupils in public schools in the state in its efforts to increase children enrolment and cushion fuel subsidy removal by the federal government.

Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago stated this when he received officials of the National Examination Council (NECO) led by its Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi at the Government House, Minna.

The Governor explained that the free transportation for the children at the basic level of education will “encourage pupils to go to school at the basic education level and again cushion the effect of subsidy removal”.

He observed the need for the Examination body to collaborate with the state in addressing the challenges of out-of-school children and girl-child education adding that the use of ICT in the education sector will do a great deal to its development.

The Governor also suggested that NECO should find ways of supporting  Vocational trainings in the education curriculum so as to have students that are self reliant.

While charging the Council to do more in terms of Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSRs) to the state, the Governor assured of his administration’s effort to support the Examination body.

“As a government, we cry fowl. We have not felt NECO in terms of Corporate Social Responsibilities, we have not seen a block of class rooms that has been fixed by NECO. You cannot be a tenant in our state and not add value to our people and communities.

“NECO  needs to sponsor educational activities like essay writing and also deploy  some of their human resources to classrooms to teach and do mentorship”, he suggested.

On the issue of having fluctuating turnout and performance of registered students for Senior Secondary School Examinations, the Governor directed the Secretary to the Niger State Government (SSG) to look into the root causes.

He also disclosed that he has approved N30M monthly to clear the outstanding debt owed NECO while volunteering to do follow up on how the Examination body can recover its debt from other states of the Federation.

Earlier, the NECO Registrar and CEO, Prof.Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi had said their visit was to congratulate the Governor on his victory at the polls and successful inauguration as the Governor of the state.

Prof. Wushishi who sought for more collaboration between the Council and the state government, said it will bring about immense mutual benefits.

He explained that Niger state has experienced a fluctuating registration figures for the Senior Secondary School Examinations from 2018 to 2022.

The NECO Registrar and CEO urged the State government to make NECO examinations compulsory for all the Public Schools in Niger State and assured him of its readiness to partner with the state to enhance education in line with its core values.