KADUNA - The Kaduna State Government has spent more than N3 billion on the upgrading, improvement and maintenance of its 3,780 primary and secondary schools in the last one year.

The state Commissioner for Education, Malam Sulaiman Lawal, stated this recently in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna .

Lawal said that more than 50 blocks of two classrooms had been constructed in some selected secondary schools in the state, with 32 others being renovated.

He said the ministry had also renovated 25 staff quarters,11 laboratories,16 libraries, six hostels and three workshops in the first phase of the projects in the state.

The commissioner said the ministry had supplied 168 schools with furniture adding that 256 schools were provided with science, technical and vocational training equipment.

Lawal said 64 schools were provided with water, 16 new laboratories, nine libraries and five hostel blocks constructed in some selected secondary schools within the period under review.

The secondary schools projects, he said, cost the state government more than N1.7 billion.

He said the state had also completed the Education Trust Fund (ETF) intervention project involving 89 blocks of two classrooms, 21 offices and 21 VIP toilets.

“This also included 2,357 units of furniture, 19,670 text books and 1,754 library furniture at the cost of N304,965,000,” Lawal said.

The commissioner said similar renovation and reconstruction projects were executed in some selected primary schools across the 23 local government areas.

He said Japanese government had also executed primary school projects, including the construction of 265 classrooms,170 toilets, five bore holes, 6,095 desk and benches, four head teachers offices, as well as the supply of 265 chalk boards in 32 selected primary schools.

Lawal said 92 selected schools comprising 64,078 pupils were benefiting from the free and compulsory education project of the state.

“It had cost the state more than N312 million to implement the first and second phases of the free education project,” he said.

The state has earmarked N500 million for the implementation of phase III of its free education program The program is being implemented in phases by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

No fewer than 92 primary schools benefited from phase one and two of the program in the 23 local government areas of the state during the last one year.