The Jigawa Government has earmarked N400m for the renovation of seven tsangaya schools in the state.

Dr Abubakar Maje, the Executive Secretary, Jigawa State Tsangaya Education Board, made the disclosure shortly after defending the board’s budget for 2025 fiscal year before the Jigawa House of Assembly Committee on Education, in Dutse on Thursday.

Maje said the sum of N1.82bn was approved by the state government as the total money to be spent by the board on capital and recurrent expenditure in 2025.\

He explained that N400m would be used to renovate the existing seven tsangaya schools established by the Federal Government in 2012.

The schools were established to integrate the Tsangaya Islamic education into the western system of education and to tackle the problem of out-of-school children, including almajiris.

The pilot scheme took off in 2012 in Niger, Kano, Adamawa, Yobe, Katsina, Oyo, and Jigawa states.

Seven of the schools were established in different locations across the selected local government areas in Jigawa state.

“We planned to spend N400 million to renovate the seven tsangaya schools established by the federal government in Gwiwa, Jahun, Sulenkarkar, Maigatari, Birniwa, Kirikasamma and Buji LGAs.

“The first thing we intend to do is to renovate these schools as they are currently in dilapidated condition and when I approached our governor about this, he quickly approved the renovation of all the seven schools,” Maje said.

He explained that the development would enable the board to enrol more students, particularly those out of school.

The executive secretary added that when renovated, the schools are expected to admit 7,500 more students.

“Our target is to enrol 2,000 more pupils in each of the two biggest schools in Gwiwa and Gantsa because they’re the biggest.

“While in the remaining five schools we planned to enrol 500 more pupils,” the executive secretary said.

According to him, the board also planned to hold a three-day sensitization and awareness creation workshop for Islamic teachers across the state with a view to identify and address grey areas with regards to tsangaya education system.

“During this workshop, there will be a question and answer session where grey areas will be identified in order to address them for the success of the system,” Maje assured.

He added that the tsangaya education system has three components: tsangaya (recitation hall), conventional class, where pupils will be taught English language, mathematics and science as well as skills acquisition classes, where pupils will be trained in Plaster of Paris (POP), carpentry, plumbing, among other trades.

“This is to enable the students to become self-reliant after graduation, without waiting for white collar job.”

The Federal Government, with support from the Global Fund, has deployed 333 Truenat devices across the country in an effort to combat tuberculosis (TB) and drug-resistant TB (DR-TB).

Mrs Rita Akpakpan, Head of Laboratory Services at the Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Program (NTBLCP), disclosed this to newsmen on the side-lines of the 2024 National Tuberculosis Conference on Thursday in Abuja.

Akpakpan said that the initiative was expected to transform TB diagnostics in peripheral and underserved areas, significantly boosting case detection rates and improving access to timely care.

“Nigeria accounts for 75 per cent of the global “missing TB cases” and 70 per cent of missing DR-TB cases due to limited access to rapid molecular testing in rural and remote areas.

“The Truenat system, developed by India-based Molbio Diagnostics, offers a portable, battery-operated, and solar-compatible solution designed for point-of-care testing,” she said.

She said that Truenat had proven to drastically reduce diagnostic turnaround times while increasing TB case detection rates.

“This deployment will enable NTBLCP to test an additional 8,000 people daily, or two million more annually, helping to curtail community transmission and ensuring early treatment, “she said.

According to her, the Truenat device stands out for its suitability in resource-limited settings.

“The device is compact, rugged, and dust-tolerant. It operates efficiently in temperatures of up to 40°C without air conditioning and has minimal biosafety issues.

“This makes it ideal for Nigeria’s remote and high-temperature regions,” she said.

She said that the system could detect TB and Rifampicin resistance by extracting, amplifying, and identifying specific genomic DNA, providing rapid and accurate results at the point of care.

Dr Emperor Ubochioma, the Programme Management Unit Team Lead, emphasised the transformative nature of the initiative:

“This deployment empowers our healthcare system with advanced diagnostic tools that reach hard-to-reach areas.

“We are confident that this will significantly improve TB detection rates and treatment outcomes, reducing the burden of TB in our country,” he said.

He said that to ensure seamless implementation, Molbio Diagnostics and NTBLCP were conducting nationwide training sessions for end users, alongside the installation of the devices.

Mr Sriram Natarajan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Molbio Diagnostics, highlighted the significance of this effort:

“The deployment of 333 Truenat devices in Nigeria marks a significant milestone in our mission to provide innovative diagnostic solutions to underserved regions.

“We are committed to supporting Nigeria in its fight against TB and improving public health outcomes.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, has charged students of the Junior Course 98 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, to be enterprising, diligent and resourceful.

Oluyede gave the charge while addressing the students at their regimental dinner night on Wednesday in Jaji, Kaduna State.

According to him, possessing the attributes will enable them build successfully on their career and personal lives.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dinner night is one of the major events lined up for the graduation of the students on Friday.

Oluyede said the objective of the college was to develop the professional knowledge and understanding of selected officers to prepare them for staff and command appointments.

He said the officers in the last 23 weeks had learnt some vital concepts like counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations, estimate process and manoeuvring approach to warfare and peace support operations.

“It is also gratifying that you learnt the rudiments of time management, perseverance, determination, team spirit, staff work, and self-confidence and most importantly, discipline while on this course.

“Your leadership, dedication and ability to inspire and guide your teams are essential to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and excellence.

”As junior leaders, you must be able to inspire confidence in subordinates and not lead through intimidation or be overtly coercive.

“Your impact significantly contributes to the overall plan and objectives at the operational and strategic levels, “he said.

The army chief congratulated the students on the successful completion of their course

NAN reports that prizes were given to students who distinguished themselves