Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal Signs Education Reform Executive Orders, Begins National Curriculum Distribution

Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has signed a series of Executive Orders establishing a new governance framework for education in the state. The orders cover financing, school protection, quality assurance, health, safety, and school operations.

The governor also flagged off the distribution of the national curriculum to public schools on Tuesday during a meeting with education stakeholders at the Government House in Gusau.

According to a statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, the reforms address several areas of the education system.

These include school governance, feeding programs, student welfare, transportation safety, implementation of safe-school protocols, and regulation of graduation ceremonies.

Other provisions in the orders include unified examinations, school health services, merit-based appointments for school leaders, inclusive education policies, and increased focus on STEM, TVET, and digital education.

Speaking at the event, Governor Lawal described education as key to development.

“It is the most powerful instrument for reducing poverty, promoting peace, strengthening security, stimulating economic growth and preparing future generations to compete in an increasingly knowledge-driven world,” he said.

“Today, we are turning that commitment into concrete institutional reforms by signing and presenting these Executive Orders. These are not isolated directives. Together, they constitute a comprehensive governance framework designed to strengthen school administration, improve accountability, protect public educational assets, enhance financing, promote safety, raise educational standards, improve learning outcomes and prepare our children for the demands of the twenty-first century.”

The governor noted that previous education efforts in the state had largely focused on physical infrastructure, and stressed that classrooms and laboratories alone do not guarantee quality education.

The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Abdulmalik Abubakar Gajam, said the success of the reforms will depend on collaboration among government, teachers, parents, communities, traditional institutions, development partners, and the private sector.

“These reforms will not end with policy documents,” Gajam stated. “They will be reflected in safer schools, stronger governance, healthier learners, improved teaching, better educational outcomes, and greater public confidence in our education system.”

The state government said implementation of the Executive Orders will begin immediately, with monitoring mechanisms to track progress in schools across the 14 local government areas of the state.