The Kano State Agency for Mass Education has trained Area Coordinating Officers from all 44 Local Government Areas of the state as part of efforts to strengthen adult and non-formal education and support the government’s ambition of reducing the number of out-of-school children to zero.

The 2 day capacity-building workshop, held  in Zaria, Kaduna State, brought together Area Coordinating Officers, Zonal Directors, Directors and other key personnel of the agency.

The workshop, organised by SAME in collaboration with Non-Formal Development for Education and Health Initiatives (NDEHI), was held under the theme, “Strengthening Leadership, Community Engagement, and Quality Service Delivery in Adult Non-Formal Education in Kano State.”

Declaring the workshop open on behalf of the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Ali Haruna Makoda, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Baffa Bashir Muhammad, said the initiative reflected the Kano State Government’s renewed commitment to advancing adult and non-formal education.

Muhammad praised Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for prioritising education under the administration’s “Education First” agenda, noting that non-formal education remained an important tool for empowering citizens, reducing illiteracy and reaching people who were outside the formal school system.

He commended the Executive Secretary of SAME, Dr. Binta Abubakar, for initiating the workshop, describing it as a landmark step towards strengthening non-formal education delivery in the state.

The Permanent Secretary urged participants to maximise the expertise of the resource persons and ensure that the knowledge acquired translated into measurable improvements in adult literacy and learning programmes across Kano.

Speaking on the objectives of the workshop, the Executive Secretary of SAME, Dr. Binta Abubakar, said the training was designed to refresh the knowledge and strengthen the capacity of personnel responsible for implementing the agency’s programmes across the 44 LGAs.

She said the participants were exposed to modern approaches to leadership, monitoring and evaluation, record keeping, community engagement, learning-centre management and the establishment of new learning centres.

Dr. Abubakar emphasised the need for the agency to improve enrolment, monitoring and evaluation, record management and community participation, while expanding learning opportunities to underserved communities.

She said the ultimate goal was to contribute to the reduction of out-of-school learners and support the state government’s ambition of achieving zero out-of-school children in Kano State.

The lead facilitator, Dr. Auwalu Halilu, said the workshop was aimed at changing the perception and delivery of adult education by moving beyond the traditional focus on literacy and numeracy.

According to him, modern adult education encompasses literacy, numeracy, life skills, community engagement and practical approaches to addressing societal challenges through adult learning.

Majority of them feel adult education is just about literacy and numeracy. In a more globalized perspective now, it’s modern literacy and numeracy—you have to think about literacy, numeracy, and life skills, including engagement with the community and solving societal problems through adult learning,” Halilu said.

He said the workshop brought together university professors, doctors, field practitioners and other resource persons to expose participants to contemporary methods of delivering adult and non-formal education.

Halilu described the initiative as historically significant, noting that it was the first time staff of the agency, including Area Coordinating Officers from all 44 LGAs, had been sponsored to travel outside Kano State for a capacity-building programme of this nature.

He attributed the development to the support of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and said participants were expected to apply the knowledge acquired to improve the agency’s operations after returning to Kano.

The Chairman of the Kano State School-Based Management Committee (SBMC), Tijjani Haladu Baraya, commended the agency for organising the training outside the state, describing it as an important step towards improving operational efficiency.

Baraya praised Dr. Binta Abubakar for what he described as innovative approaches since assuming leadership of the agency, saying the initiative aligned with the state government’s priority on education.

He appealed to the Ministry of Education and the Kano State Government to sustain adequate budgetary support for the Agency for Mass Education to enable it to consolidate the gains of the training and improve service delivery.

Also speaking, the Kano Municipal Zonal Director, Rabi Hassan Gwarzo, said the workshop had equipped participants with practical knowledge that would help improve the management of learning centres across the state.

Gwarzo said the training provided clearer understanding of modern administrative practices, particularly the implementation and operation of Centre-Based and Community-Based Management Committees (CBMCs).

She said the knowledge gained would help address challenges affecting some local learning centres and pledged to work with community leaders, facilitators and other stakeholders to revive and strengthen centres in Kano Municipal.

She also stressed the need for continuous retraining of facilitators to address administrative lapses and sustain improvements across the centres.

Gwarzo commended Dr. Binta Abubakar, whom she described as “Super ES,” for initiating the programme and urged participants to implement the strategies acquired during the training.

The workshop featured sessions on the foundations of adult and non-formal education, the structure of non-formal education, adult learners, instructional materials, the role of facilitators and the responsibilities of practitioners.

Other areas covered included leadership, community engagement, monitoring and evaluation, record keeping, learning-centre management and strategies for improving service delivery.

The agency said the training was expected to strengthen leadership, improve accountability and equip its personnel with modern tools to deliver more effective adult and non-formal education programmes across Kano State.

The Executive Secretary of the Kano State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Isyaku Abdullahi Kubarachi, accompanied by directors of the Agency, has visited the scenes of recent building collapses within Kano metropolis and condoled with families who lost loved ones in the incidents.

During the visit, the SEMA team inspected the site of the collapsed Khadija Bala Memorisation School, located at No. 1030, Police Station Road, Fagge Local Government Area, where one female student lost her life while eight others were rescued following the collapse of the Islamic school.

The team also visited Dukawa, Gobirawa area of Dala Local Government Area, where the residence of Malam Mutari Abdulhamidu collapsed, resulting in the death of his four children.

Similarly, at Gaida, four people reportedly lost their lives following the collapse of a residential building.

The Executive Secretary, alongside a representative of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), expressed deep sympathy and condolences to the bereaved families, praying for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives and wishing the survivors a speedy recovery.

Alhaji Isyaku Abdullahi Kubarachi urged members of the public to strictly adhere to approved building regulations and safety standards, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall, when building structures may become more vulnerable to collapse.

In a statement, SEMA spokesperson Jamil Sagir Danbala said the Executive Secretary further called on property owners, developers and residents to avoid compromising building standards and to promptly report any signs of structural weakness to the relevant authorities.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has handed over the newly renovated and upgraded Diso Ward Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) to the Kano State Government as part of efforts to strengthen primary healthcare delivery and improve access to essential health services at the grassroots.

The upgraded facility was formally handed over to the Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Agency (KSPHCMA) during a ceremony attended by health officials, community representatives and other stakeholders.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, UNICEF representative Shafiqurrahman said the organisation remained committed to supporting Kano State in ensuring that primary healthcare facilities were not only upgraded but also capable of providing sustainable and quality services to the communities they serve.

Shafiqurrahman said UNICEF was working closely with relevant stakeholders to ensure effective service delivery at the facilities it supports.

“We are here closely to ensure service delivery,” he said.

According to him, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Global Fund, is currently working with five health facilities, with the Diso Ward PHC becoming the first of the facilities under the programme to be formally handed over to the state government.

He explained that the intervention went beyond the renovation of the existing structure, noting that the facility had also benefited from the installation of a solarisation system to help provide a more reliable source of electricity for healthcare operations.

The UNICEF representative said the upgrade of the facility included the establishment of a new ward, labour room and pharmacy, as well as facilities designed to improve access for physically challenged persons.

He stressed that UNICEF placed strong emphasis on primary healthcare because PHCs are the closest healthcare facilities to most communities and often serve as the first point of contact between citizens and the health system.

“We put great emphasis on PHC because it is close to the people,” he said.

Shafiqurrahman, however, cautioned that renovating and equipping a healthcare facility was only one part of the process, stressing that maintaining the facility and ensuring continuous service delivery were equally important.

“Building is one thing and services is another thing. It is a continuous service for the people,” he said.

He called for a strong commitment to the sustainability of the facility, including regular supervision, proper maintenance and effective management of the equipment and infrastructure provided.

According to him, the objective of the intervention was to ensure that the people of Diso and surrounding communities continued to benefit from the facility for a long time.

“We want sustainability and longer services, including supervision and maintenance,” he added.

Receiving the upgraded facility on behalf of the Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Agency, the agency’s Director of Administration, Adamu Pate Jigaware, commended UNICEF for its support and intervention in strengthening healthcare delivery in the state.

Jigaware, who represented the Director of the Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Agency, expressed appreciation to UNICEF and other partners involved in the project, saying the intervention would contribute to improving healthcare services for residents of the area.

He also commended the contractor who executed the renovation and upgrade works, particularly for working in collaboration with the World Development Committee during the implementation of the project.

He said the involvement of relevant community structures was important in ensuring ownership of the facility and supporting its sustainability.

The handover marks another step in efforts by development partners and the Kano State Government to strengthen primary healthcare infrastructure and improve access to essential health services at the community level.