Yobe Government said on Wednesday that the many years of anti- western education propaganda by ‘Boko Haram’ insurgents had negatively affected enrollment and retention of children in schools across the state.

Boko Haram

Alhaji Muhammad Lamin, State Commissioner for Education, stated this in Damaturu at the launching of enrollment drive campaign for primary and junior secondary schools.

He said that the teachings against western education by the insurgents had impacted on the mind set of some communities in the state.

“It is disheartening that except for the local government headquarters, classrooms in most parts of the state are empty without pupils.

“This is the story in Giedam, Yunusari, Yusufari, Bursari, Bade, Nguru, Machina, Karasuwa, Jakusko Local Government areas, and even outside Damaturu, the state capital,’’ he lamented.

The commissioner said the state was facing a herculean task reversing the thinking of some parents, who had accepted hook, line and sinker, the misleading propaganda of the insurgents.

“It is a challenge for elites from these communities to mount serious campaign to revert this wrong thinking for parents to enroll their wards into schools.

“Government will do everything possible, including the full implementation of the UBE policy , which stipulates free and compulsory basic education for every child,’’ Lamin said.

Earlier, Alhaji Goni Ibrahim, the State Chairman, Universal Basic Education, said that the campaign was a key factor in ensuring the enrollment and retention of pupils affected by insurgency and were out of schools.

He commended UNICEF for partnering with the state government to improve education in the state, especially provision of infrastructures, instructional materials, toilets, recreational facilities and building the capacity of teachers.(NAN)