The Kano government says it is building houses for teachers across the state to make the teaching profession attractive.

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje disclosed this while opening a two-day NUJ delegates conference in Kano. 

The governor informed the conference that more than 2,000 houses had been completed, out of which about 750 would be inaugurated in the Kano metropolis by President Muhammadu Buhari during his planned visit to the state.

Mr Ganduje said the houses were not free of charge but that the Kano government would provide the enabling environment, through the banks, for the teachers to acquire them.

He also told the gathering that his administration had increased the retirement age of teachers from 60 to 65 years to enhance the quality of the teaching profession in Kano.

Similarly, the governor disclosed that his administration had allowed teachers in Kano to further their education, to improve their qualifications and the quality of education.

The governor said this made the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) the minimum teaching qualification in Kano.

He commended the decision of the NUJ to hold the conference in Kano, which he said was the commercial nerve centre of the North and some African countries as well as the most peaceful state in Nigeria.

Mr Ganduje said his administration had ensured excellent working relations between practising journalists in the state and the media in general, as well as the freest environment for expressing an opinion.

(NAN)