DFID Blames Northern Leaders for Region’s Educational Backwardness

By Mohammed Aminu in Gusau

Reading and Numeracy Activity (RANA), a Department for International Development (DFID) project, Wednesday blamed northern leaders for their lack of commitment to the development of primary education in the region.

RANA’s Project Coordinator, Dr. Mikhail Ibrahim, made this known at a reading festival organised for primary school pupils on reading and numeracy activities in Gusau, Zamfara State.

He noted that due to the lack of commitment of northern leaders and support for basic education, the region has remained backward in education and this poses challenges for its development.

The project coordinator said it was in view of the need to redress the ugly trend that RANA initiated a three-year programme for using the mother tongue as the language of instruction in Primary 1-3 in Zamfara and Katsina States.

According to Ibrahim, the project is designed for public primary schools with the goal of improving literacy and numeracy outcomes for learners, especially girls by developing Hausa language teaching and learning materials, build teacher capacity, mobilise communities as well as engage local government councils.

Details later…