Parents are now feeding their children enrolled in Sokoto boarding schools as food contractors have suspended supply for over two years over unpaid debt.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that principals of the schools were initially asked to find the means of feeding the children which they could not sustain due to lack of funds.
“Some of the principals had sold their properties to feed the children but were not paid back as promised by Governor Aminu Tambuwal led government,” our source said.
However, Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto on Wednesday has pledged to restore the feeding programme.
Aliyu made the pledge shortly after receiving the USAID Chief of Party, Nuraddeen Lawal who led the Chairman of Creative Associates International, Leland Kruvant on a courtesy call on Wednesday.
“We will sit with the contractors and resolve the issues. I am not saying we will pay them the backlog of their debts. But we will do everything possible to ensure the programme is restored in earnest.
Aliyu further revealed their plans to return all the out-of-school children back to classrooms.
“Our major concern is primary education because it is the bedrock of every knowledge.
“Once it’s okay, our children will start on a solid and dependable foundation. Hence we will do everything to make our primary schools centres of excellence.
“We are ready and willing to collaborate with any individual, groups and international agencies to salvage our education sector.
“We will also come up with new policies to make parents and their children see the important of acquiring basic education,” he said
Earlier, the Chairman, Kruvant praised the governor for making education one of the priorities of his government.
“Because the most important function of the government is to educate its children.
“I am optimistic, because things are getting better in the state every day,” he said
According to him, the book which was translated into Hausa will assist the children to learn how to read.
