Education minister Yusuf Sununu has lauded Governor Bala Mohammed over his commitment to reinvigorating education in Bauchi.

Mr Sununu specifically commended the governor for his plan to design an implementable roadmap to enhance access to quality education in the state.

The minister stated this at the inauguration of a two-day 2023 education summit on Monday in Bauchi.

According to him, education being on the concurrent list made it the responsibility of the federal and state governments, with the bulk of the burden on the states.

“I wish to reiterate that education is our collective responsibility, and its failure can well be taken as the failure of the entire country.

“It is based on this that the Federal Ministry of Education recognises and commends the efforts of Governor Bala Mohammed for the great strides in Bauchi State.

“Most especially, your plan to revolutionise the education sector by designing an implementable roadmap that will ensure equitable access to quality and functional education,” he said.

The minister also said that to further tackle some of the challenges facing education, the federal Ministry of Education developed a roadmap captioned “Education for Renewed Hope.”

He said the document was in alignment with the eight-point agenda of President Bola Tinubu, aimed at returning the glory of education to Nigeria.

The minister charged the participants to open their minds and examine the problems retarding the progress of education in the state.

“You must also come up with practical, implementable, locally acceptable and cost-effective means of addressing them.”

Mr Mohammed said the summit would facilitate a comprehensive assessment of education, including the number of out-of-school children, demographics, and the impact on education due to various challenges in the state.

This, he said, would enable stakeholders, government officials, educators, parents, civil society organisations, and development partners to collaboratively address the education challenges bedevilling the state.

According to Mr Mohammed, the summit will develop evidence-based programmes, policies and strategies towards addressing the challenges and strengthening capacities and existing efforts.

“We have repositioned the ministry of education to meet the challenges of the 21st century through the use of information and communication technology.

“We have so far reduced the number of out-of-school children in the state from a staggering 2.3 million to 700,000.

“We note this with joy, not for the optics arising from the politicisation of the out-of-school problem, but as a way of acknowledging that where there is a will, most likely, there will always be a way,” he said.

(NAN)