Taraba, a state with just 2,000 primary school pupils

Taraba state governor Agbu Kefas has dropped a bombshell: the state has just 2,070 pupils in its public primary schools.

Governor Kefas during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, described the situation as alarming, adding that the situation necessitated his recent intervention of declaring free education of primary and secondary school pupils, as well as an immediate slash of student fees of the state varsity by fifty per cent.

While noting that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that children get good education, Governor Kefas said it is sad that only few pupils are in school in the state, which is a result of poor enrolment in the state.

In his words “In primary school we have two thousand and seventy (pupils)“.

Governor Kefas noted that many families do not have anyone in school while many children have no parents to fund their academic pursuits. When asked if he would be able to deliver on his promise to students, looking at the state’s income and the intervention he has proposed, the governor said he thinks the administration can comfortably bear the burden.

He said at the moment, there are several assessments and interactions going on, most of which are geared towards getting new sources of funding to foot the bills of the children and students who the government have promised to train.

According to Governor Kefas, the government is working on a supplementary budget to take care of the provisions being made to see that more children get quality education in Taraba State.