The Executive Chairman of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), Kassim Muhammad-Kassim, has declared an aggressive plan to recover government-issued chairs and desks allegedly sold by some education secretaries and headmasters to private schools across the state.
Speaking during his first official meeting with Education Secretaries from the 13 Local Government Areas and 18 Development Areas in Lafia on Wednesday, Muhammad-Kassim condemned the practice of diverting furniture meant for public schools, describing it as unacceptable and exploitative.
“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.”
The chairman revealed that he had already contacted the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations to support efforts in identifying and retrieving the misappropriated items from private schools.
“It will not be business as usual,” Muhammad-Kassim said, adding that his administration would prioritise the needs of rural schools and ensure they are adequately equipped.
The chairman, who was appointed by Governor Abdullahi Sule to lead reforms in the basic education sub-sector, reiterated his commitment to overhauling the system, even if his decisions are unpopular among stakeholders.
He warned against the illegal deduction of teachers’ salaries, directing that such deductions must stop immediately unless carried out for disciplinary reasons approved by the board. “All illegal deductions should cease. We must restore discipline and fairness in the system,” he said.
On land matters, Muhammad-Kassim cautioned education secretaries against allocating school lands to small business operators without express permission from the board. He cited instances where school lands were encroached upon for personal use, undermining the integrity of public learning spaces.
To improve infrastructure sustainability, the board announced plans to set up a maintenance unit in each local government. He further warned contractors that substandard projects would not be tolerated.
“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. We will not pay contractors until we are satisfied with the quality of work,” he said.
In a major policy shift, NSUBEB has also begun the redeployment of 1,300 administrative staff—out of a total of 3,422—into classrooms across rural communities. The move, according to the chairman, is to address the teacher shortage in rural areas.
“The government does not have to experience a shortage of teachers while administrative departments have an abundance of qualified teachers as staff,” he explained. “The Board will not tolerate a situation where there are numerous supervisors in urban areas while rural schools lack teachers.”
On new employment, Muhammad-Kassim disclosed that the state government had approved the recruitment of 4,800 qualified primary school teachers, with all recruits to be deployed exclusively to rural areas under a special initiative tagged Recruitment of Teachers in Rural Areas.
“No newly recruited teacher will be posted to any of the urban areas in the state,” he stressed, adding that the board is determined to reverse decades of neglect in the state’s education system.
The meeting marks the start of what appears to be a bold reform era in Nasarawa State’s basic education sector, with transparency, accountability, and rural inclusion at its core.
