By peterside Rejoice Eneky
The Executive Chairman of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), Kassim Muhammad-Kassim, has taken a bold stand against corruption and mismanagement within the state’s education sector, vowing to recover all government-provided furniture allegedly diverted and sold by school officials to private schools.
During a maiden meeting held in Lafia with Education Secretaries from the state’s 13 Local Government Areas and 18 Development Areas, Muhammad-Kassim expressed outrage at reports of students sitting on bare floors despite documented provision of furniture.
“Our students cannot be sitting on the floor while headmasters and education secretaries sell furniture we provided,” he said. “I have visited schools and seen firsthand how children sit on floors, yet records show furniture was provided. I will not tolerate this under my administration.”
In response, the chairman disclosed that he had engaged the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations to collaborate with NSUBEB in tracing and recovering government-owned furniture that had allegedly been sold to private institutions.
He stressed that his leadership would no longer entertain business-as-usual practices, particularly in the management of rural schools. According to him, improving rural education infrastructure and ensuring proper teacher deployment would be key focuses of his administration.
In a sweeping set of reforms, Muhammad-Kassim ordered the immediate redeployment of 1,300 administrative staff out of 3,422 total back to classroom teaching positions. The redeployment targets qualified teachers occupying non-teaching roles in urban administrative offices, while rural schools remain underserved.
“The Board will not tolerate a situation where there are numerous supervisors in urban areas while rural schools lack teachers,” he declared. “So the 1,300 redeployed teachers will be posted to rural schools.”
The Chairman also announced that Governor Abdullahi Sule had approved the recruitment of 4,800 qualified teachers, with a mandate that all new hires must be willing to serve in rural areas.
“No newly recruited teacher will be posted to urban areas,” Muhammad-Kassim warned. “This recruitment is strictly for the rural education sector.”
Addressing financial malpractice, the SUBEB boss prohibited all illegal deductions from teachers’ salaries, unless properly sanctioned through disciplinary procedures and authorized by the Board.
“All illegal deductions must stop immediately,” he said, instructing education secretaries to ensure compliance.
Furthermore, Muhammad-Kassim directed that no school lands be allocated for commercial use or small business ventures without the board’s formal approval. He cited several cases where school properties had been claimed for personal gain by unauthorized individuals.
As part of a broader infrastructure safeguard plan, he announced the creation of a maintenance unit in each local government area to monitor the upkeep of school facilities and ensure sustainability of projects.
“We cannot renovate a school this year and have the same structures renovated next year. It indicates a problem in the initial contractor’s work,” he noted. “We will not pay contractors until we are satisfied with the quality of work.”
The chairman’s sweeping reforms mark a new chapter for basic education in Nasarawa State, with a clear emphasis on accountability, transparency, and rural empowerment. He reiterated his commitment to achieving Governor Sule’s vision of transforming the education sector, even if it meant making difficult and unpopular decisions.
“I was appointed by the Governor to reform the education sub-sector, and I intend to deliver on that mandate,” he concluded.
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