The Katsina government has introduced a new action plan designed to standardise teaching and administration in public schools.

The state commissioner for basic and secondary education, Zainab Musa-Musawa, made this known during an interactive session with journalists in Katsina.

According to her, the plans would ensure every school operates under the same structure, eliminating the disorganisation previously caused by individual school-based practices.

“We discovered that schools were operating under different systems. This action plan will unify their structure, streamline operations, and make supervision easier and more effective,” said Ms Musa-Musawa.

She also announced the launch of the upgraded students’ census programme and the digital data collection in all public schools.

Ms Musa-Musawa said the census programme aligned with educational reforms under Governor Dikko Radda’s administration.

“Every public school will receive a students’ annual census book, capable of recording detailed data for 3,000 pupils, including names, guardians, NINs, disabilities, blood groups, and educational history,” she explained. “Each pupil will be assigned a unique identifier, and their data will be uploaded onto the State Education Management Information System.

The education commissioner stated the census would be conducted through trained monitoring and evaluation officers at school and local government levels.

She noted that as part of efforts to improve accountability and efficiency, the ministry has introduced an automated monitoring and evaluation system.

The commissioner said about 300 tablets were provided, equipped with specialised applications, for the monitoring officers to gather real-time data during school visits.

The commissioner also said that School-Based Management Committees, zonal quality assurance offices, and top officials from the ministry, including herself, are actively involved in school monitoring.

Ms Musa-Musawa also addressed the decision to conduct examinations immediately after resumption for the second term, citing an existing 2022 state law prohibiting academic activities during Ramadan.

The commissioner also announced the introduction of the ‘Farm to Kitchen’ initiative, designed to revive the tradition of school farming aimed to inculcate agricultural skills and entrepreneurship in students.