The Federal Government has declared that it will proceed with the proposed land swap arrangement at the Federal Government College (FGC), Kano, insisting that the initiative is necessary to generate resources for the expansion and rehabilitation of infrastructure in the school.

Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, made the declaration on Monday during an inspection visit to the college alongside the Minister of State for Education, officials of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), and the Kano State Commissioner for Education.

The minister said the government would not be swayed by sentiments or opposition, maintaining that every decision would be guided by the interest of students.

“There is no going back. We will do what we think is right for Nigerian children. It is not about sentiment or emotion; it is about giving every child access to the highest quality of education,” Alausa said.

He explained that the proposed Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement would enable the government to unlock the economic value of unused portions of the school’s land to finance critical infrastructure projects.

According to him, retaining large expanses of land that are unlikely to be utilised serves little purpose when the same assets can be leveraged to improve learning facilities.

“There is no need keeping so many hectares of land that we are not going to use in the next 100 years. If we can mobilise resources through partnerships to improve infrastructure and expand capacity, then we should do so,” he said.

The minister said he personally questioned the school’s principal on whether the arrangement would benefit the institution and its students, adding that the response was an unequivocal “Yes”.

He stressed that the Federal Ministry of Education had carried out multiple assessments before reaching the decision and was not relying solely on reports from Abuja.

Alausa said the government remained open to any investor, including old students of the college, willing to partner in the project under acceptable terms.

“If the old students want to undertake the same land swap arrangement and mobilise resources for the development of the school, we are ready to discuss with them,” he said.

The minister noted that the land swap proposal formed part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to mobilise domestic resources for education, complementing budgetary allocations.

During the visit, Alausa also commissioned a renovated solar-powered e-library at the college and inspected other facilities, describing the improvements as part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to providing quality education across the country.

He also commended Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for his investment in the education sector, particularly the ongoing construction of bilingual schools aimed at integrating Almajiri and out-of-school children into formal education.

On his part, the Kano State Commissioner for Education, Ali Haruna Makoda, said the state government remained committed to collaborating with the Federal Government to improve educational outcomes.

He noted that Kano had consistently increased budgetary allocations to education and welcomed federal interventions aimed at strengthening infrastructure and expanding access to quality learning across the state. (Daily Trust)

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