The Zamfara State government has reopened 45 of the 75 schools that were closed due to insecurity, according to the Ministry of Education in Gusau on Wednesday.
The disclosure was made by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Kabiru Attahiru, when he received members of the state’s Technical Team on Education in Emergencies who paid an advocacy visit to the ministry.
Following the kidnapping of students from the Government Day Secondary School, Kaya, in the state’s Maradun Local Government Area, the state government ordered the schools to close in September 2021.
“While reopening the schools, we categorised them into three groups – Green, Yellow and Red.
“Green were schools located in areas without security threats, the Yellow group is for schools located in areas with little threat of insecurity, while the Red ones were schools in those areas with high security risks,’’ Attahiru explained.
He stated that all 75 schools were classified as Red at the time of their closure because it was dangerous to keep them open.
“Today, I am happy to inform you that as a result of improvement of security in the state, we reopened 45 out of the 75 schools, while only 30 of the schools remained shut.
“Government and security agencies have been working together to ensure improved security in the state.
“We are hoping for more improvement in security in the state so that we can reopen the remaining 30 schools,’’ he said.
The permanent secretary thanked the EiE team for their visit and assured them of the ministry’s commitment to continue collaborating with all stakeholders to promote the state’s education sector.
“This is a welcome development. I consider this team as partner in progress. I am giving you assurance of total support and cooperation of the ministry,’’ he added.
