The Jigawa State Government is seeking $110 million in development financing from the Islamic Development Bank, IsDB, to address challenges in the education sector, including inadequate school infrastructure, teacher development, and poor learning environments.
Governor Malam Umar Namadi disclosed this when he received an IsDB delegation led by the Bank’s Operations Team Leader for Social Infrastructure, Mr Imtiaz Alam, during a courtesy visit on Friday at Government House, Dutse.
The proposed intervention, tagged the SMART Project, is being developed in collaboration with the IsDB and will also cover two other participating states.
“This partnership is an important opportunity for us to strengthen our efforts to improve access to quality education and address existing challenges in the education sector”
”We approached the Islamic Development Bank because of its capacity not only to support development initiatives but also to mobilise other development partners and donors for priority interventions”.
The governor explained that his administration had continued to implement measures aimed at improving school enrolment, retention and learning outcomes.
According to him, the proposed IsDB-supported project would complement these interventions by providing additional resources to improve school infrastructure, strengthen teacher development and enhance the overall quality of education.
”Our objective is to improve learning outcomes and ensure that our students can compete favourably wherever they find themselves,” the governor said.
Earlier, the IsDB delegation leader, Mr Imtiaz Alam, said the proposed $110 million project would support the construction of new schools, rehabilitation of existing facilities and provision of water and sanitation infrastructure.
He added that the intervention would also include teacher training, capacity building and other measures to create a more conducive teaching and learning environment.