Jamila Mohammed Dahiru: Mother Of Quality, Accessible Education In Bauchi
By Jalaludeen Usman
It is without an iota of doubt that Hajiya Jamila Mohammed Dahiru is an ‘Achiever’ per excellence due to the quantifiable transformation witnessed within her Five (5) months sojourn in the Ministry of Education.
The tremendous efforts put and passion for education has earned the academic the title of ‘Mother of Quality Education in Bauchi state’ as it is evident with the emphasis she makes on the need to ensure the provision of quality and accessible education to All children of school going age in the state.
Ministry of Education under Dr. Jamila’s stewardship ensured that education was upgraded to modern standards and such objective came to fruition through collaboration with relevant stakeholders within and outside the sector.
It is worthy to note some of the achievements recorded within her short span as thus include addressing back-log of Pending Issues and Grievances: Dr Jamila Dahiru was able to address head-on the issues of Salary omissions, Special Schools Examination as well as Student’s transfer and Teachers redeployment among others.
- Payment of NECO Exam Fees: she was able to Facilitate the payment of over 300 million naira NECO examination fees to not only SS 3 students who passed mock exams (as it was the case in the past) but to all students with index numbers across public schools in the state.
- Payment of JAMB Fees: Dr Jamila also worked towards the payment of JAMB registration to over two thousand SS3 Students’ who passed Mock exams with A-D.
- Ensured the Successful conduct of a more robust and hybrid 2023 Annual Schools Census in both Public and Private schools across the state.
- Successful review of three (3) Education Policies.
- Initiated and facilitated the Establishment of Bauchi State Education Committee with membership of the Traditional institution, Educational Institutions, Development Partners as well as NGOs and CSOs.
- Initiated and secured Executive approval to conduct the first ever ‘Education Summit’ and fast-tracked buy-in of development partners to fund the summit.
- Revival of School routine policies such as repeat, conduct of bi-weekly Assembly, and continuous assessments to improve quality of learning.
- Strengthening of the Ministry’s Quality Assurance System through close and robust school monitoring and supervision among others.
- Strengthening of Inter and Intra Coordination and Communication within the Ministry’s Directorates, Departments and Agencies.
- Conduct of Education Fiscal Space/Education Sector Analysis and design of Road Map Strategy towards an improved education sector.
- Design of Communication Strategy and Training of Communication Unit Staff for smooth implementation.
- Upgrade of the Ministry’s Social Media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Website for proper information management and communication.
- Improved routine supervision of staff performance through high level management meeting, weekly update and reports.
- Improved staff welfare through Incentives and Commendation for performance.
- Improved reporting on routine programmes, exercises and assignments conducted by Directorates and other Agencies under the ministry.
- Support in the conduct of State Milo Basketball Competition and sponsorship of winners to participate at the national level.
- Successful conduct of the 3rd batch of Nomadic Vocational Course with over one thousand attendance among nomadic children.
- Successful take up of Nigerian Learning Passport as supported by UNICEF and Federal Ministry of Education, including the Distribution of support gadgets (Tablets, modems) and mobilization.
- Enhanced collaboration and Shared Learning with Commissioners of Education from other states through Peer learning and meetings.
- Push for the adoption of new National policies on education such as National Gender in Education Policy and National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-free Schools with its Implementing Guidelines, among others.
- Strengthening of development partners relationships and opportunities for education support- USAID/Learn2Read, NEDC, NITDA, World Bank among others.
- Ensure smooth running of Ministry’s routine activities.
- Optimized ICT Unit activities with required facilities- Modems, Computers and Personnel.
- Equipping of Exams Directorate with more operational gadgets to enhance productivity and efficiency.
Hajiya Jamila being an Academic has deployed her vast knowledge on administration thereby running an open door policy in the Ministry of Education.
The recent appointment of Dr Jamila Dahiru as the Focal Person/Coordinator Agile Programme did not come as a surprise to many due to the visible achievements recorded within her short span in the state ministry of education.
All thank to His Excellency the Executive Governor of Bauchi Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed (Kauran Bauchi) for finding Dr Jamila worthy of that position.
It is our prayers that the Almighty Allah will continue to bless Hajiya Jamila Mohammed Dahiru for the wonderful work done in the Ministry directly or indirectly.
The good people of Bauchi state are proud of you.
