Zulum Enrols 1.5 Million Students in Borno Schools, Restores 104 Institutions
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has announced the enrolment of 1.5 million children who were previously out of school into primary and secondary institutions across the state.
Speaking in Maiduguri during the inauguration of Government Secondary School, Mairi, alongside Dr. Ndiame Diop, the World Bank Country Director in Nigeria, Zulum stated that the initiative had reduced the number of out-of-school children by 700,000, marking a 70 percent decline.
Over the past five years, the state government has invested heavily in education, including the rebuilding of infrastructure damaged by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Zulum revealed that 104 schools and 2,931 classrooms had been reconstructed, and millions of educational materials were distributed to primary and secondary schools.
He said, “We’ve distributed free educational materials, including 22 million text and exercise books, 15 million sets of uniforms, 700,000 school bags, and about a million other learning tools.”
A school feeding programme was also introduced, benefiting over 50,000 pupils annually.
To improve student mobility in rural areas, 10,000 bicycles were provided. Zulum expressed his appreciation to the World Bank for supporting various developmental projects, particularly the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP) and other World Bank-funded initiatives.
Dr. Ndiame Diop praised the state government’s efforts in rebuilding the education sector, highlighting the World Bank’s support for the construction of 41 secondary schools and the rehabilitation of 392 others in Borno.
