Kaduna state profile

State Ministry

The Ministry of Education in 2010 was supported by ESSPIN to conduct a survey, assessing primary school teachers in 4000 Kaduna schools, though ESSPIN is working in only 500 schools. Since the survey, over 30%, out of the total number of primary school Head Teachers and Class Teachers (according to 2011/2012 Annual School Census) have received training to improve delivery of basic education using the child-centred methodology. Lesson plans have also been developed and produced.

A 24-member State School Improvement Team SSIT (now 22) was inaugurated and is being trained on this teaching methodology. The team plays the role of stepping down training to about 50 Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) staff (District Support Officers and School Support Officers) who in turn train 165 Head teachers and 730 teachers.
ESSPIN has supported the Ministry of Education to develop the State Learning Outcome Benchmark on Literacy and Numeracy for Primary 1 to 6 (as a monitoring tool by all stakeholders for accountability and quality service delivery as well as participation by all and sundry). Also developed are specific policies on Almajiri Education, Inclusive Education and School Based Management Committees (SBMCs).

ESSPIN has also supported the yearly conduct of Annual School Census (ASC) and the Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) to guide planning and budgeting within the State’s Education sector.

Community

While two thirds of ESSPIN resources have been channelled towards providing technical assistance to Government, communities have also been supported with water and sanitation facilities to improve the personal hygiene of children and provide access to more girls, to school. As a result, over 76 hand-pump and toilets have been provided to schools.

Through the Challenge Fund, the less privileged have been provided exercise books, bags and snacks at school. Under it a modest level reinforcement training (classroom methodology from the Teacher Professional Development/School Improvement Programme – TPD/SIP) and some school renovations were carried out. The Challenge Fund intervention uses the ‘Voucher scheme to attract out-of-school children to enrol into remote stand-alone community schools. As a result, there has been over 69% increase in target school’s enrolment in these communities.

School

School Based Management Committees SBMCs have received trainings on school management and improvement; Kaduna SUBEB has also rolled out the ESSPIN-model SBMC development into 480 new schools across 16 LGAs of the State. It cost the State N56million in 2010and another N25m in 2011 to monitor and mentor them.

Through the Islamiyya Quranic &Tsangaya Education (IQTE)/ Almajiri intervention, basic literacy and numeracy have been introduced to about 222 Quranic schools in 9 LGAs. As a result of this, about 7,470 Almajiri children have benefitted from the literacy and numeracy classes delivered by about 296 trained volunteer teachers. In 2012, 116 school proprietors (commonly referred to as Alarammas) were provided with farming inputs as support for feeding the children with the aim of taking them off the streets where they go to beg in order to keep them in school so as to help them learn better.

Key Facts Based on the 2011/12 Annual School Census

• 0.6% of Urban Primary schools in the State run double shifts
• There are over 1,208,791 primary school children in Kaduna State (49% Female 51% Male)
• In Senior Secondary School there are just under 108,169 enrolled, 43.6% of whom are girls
• There are approx 36,216 primary schools teachers employed, 17,697 (49%) of whom are female.
• The Kaduna primary pupil/teacher ratio is 29:1 and 47:1 when considering only qualified teachers
• At SSS level the pupil teacher ratio is 26:1 and the pupil to qualified teacher ratio of 33:1
• Approx 33.4% of all teachers in the State received training in the last 12 months.
• There are approx 19,048 primary classrooms, almost all of which are usable. (Approx 59 pupils per classroom in primary).
• 35% of primary classrooms have sufficient seating and 49% have a good blackboard
• 66.5% of primary schools have no source of safe water
• 79.4% of primary schools have no toilet. The average pupil to toilet ratio is 348:1. The worst LGA for pupil to toilet ratio at primary level is Kubau LGA with a ratio of 3100 pupils per toilet.
• 99.73% of children progressed from primary school to JSS.