The Jigawa State Government has issued a warning to school administrators over the discovery of fraud and administrative sabotage within its boarding school feeding programme.
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Special Duties, Jigawa State chapter, during a surprise inspection at the Girls Model Boarding School, Kudai, discovered that student headcount records had been inflated by 30%. During the investigation only 681 students were counted as the total numbers of students in the school, while official records given by the school before the investigation claimed 1,008 benefited from the scheme.
Investigators found that some providers were supplying unfit soup and low-grade staples while billing the government for hundreds of non-existing students. The ministry immediately suspended the school’s principal and appointed the vice-principal to serve in an acting capacity.
Commissioner Auwal Sankara, while speaking to the press, stated that the government is instituting a permanent culture of excellence, to ensure that public funds directly benefit the nutritional needs of students rather than being diverted by corrupt officials.
Our visit today proves that we are not just making temporary changes; we are instituting a permanent culture of excellence. Any school administrator found sabotaging the programme will be considered an enemy of the state. The soup was found to be unfit for human consumption… we will not tolerate any compromise on the welfare of our children – Auwal Sankara, Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs
The Chairman of the School Feeding Contractors, Alhaji Sule Zai, was among those dismissed after a consignment of substandard rice was rejected at a commercial secondary school.
The Ministry has announced that inspections will continue across all 27 Local Government Areas of Jigawa. The suspended contractors are currently under investigation and may face prosecution to recover misappropriated funds.
Meanwhile, the state has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Abdullah Mahmood Foundation to extend the feeding services to over 30% of vulnerable Almajiri children in the state.
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