Education Tour of IQTE and secular Schools by the UK Members of Parliament

‘You (ESSPIN and supported schools) are doing extremely well with the little resources you have’

Dr. Lisa Cameron, UK Member of Parliament

While on a House of Common’s International Development Committee oversight visit to Kano State on 1st March, 2016, Dr. Lisa Campbell, like many of her colleagues on the trip, was enthralled by the level of integration she saw at Ibadul Rahman Littahfiz School, an ESSPIN supported school that embraced the concept of integrating Western, Quranic, Islamiyya and Tsangaya education.

The visitors saw pupils of this school taking literacy and numeracy lesson side by side with their religious lessons and according to Dr. Cameron, UK MP representing East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, ‘we are very pleased to see DFID-funded programs and projects contributing immensely towards rejuvenating basic education in Nigeria'. She went on to declare that ‘you (ESSPIN and supported schools are doing extremely well with the little resources you have, and this underscores the need for more investment in that direction'.

The MPs also visited Gobirawa Primary School where they witnessed how few teachers are struggling well to deliver practical lessons to more than 13, 000 pupils. They were also happy to see pupils with special needs been accorded equal opportunities to learn as normal pupils do. Dr. Cameron praised the state government for its willingness to be open to new ideas, and new ways of improving teaching and learning in class saying ‘we have to commend the State Government for taking ESSPIN on board and for taking the issue of inclusive education forward. Indeed, an excellent job is done here (at Gobirawa SPS), especially because we can see that the school is ensuring that all children are given the opportunity to be rightly educated, thereby opening doors for them to participate in life and contribute their experience towards uplifting the Nigerian economy. They will inevitably become productive citizens if they learn and master English and Math lessons.’

She promised that ‘we will be pleased to take back this positive news to the House of Commons'.

According to the leader of the delegation, Mr. Jeremy Lefroy ‘what we see is a clear indication of a favorable partnership between the State Government and the UK Government through DFID’.