Northern Pulse

By Peter Davou

The Kaduna State Head of Service, Mrs Jummai Bako, has been honoured with an Award of Excellence in Leadership and Transformative Reforms in Workers’ Welfare.

The award was presented to Bako by the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Kaduna State College of Education, Gidan Waya Chapter, during the union’s get-together and awards ceremony, in Gidan Waya on Wednesday.

Receiving the award, Bako thanked the union for the recognition and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving staff welfare and institutional performance.

She commended the academic staff for their commitment to delivering quality teacher education and producing graduates that were making impacts across various sectors in the country.

She praised the college for consistently producing distinguished graduates and urged the staff and management to sustain the momentum.

“Your contributions to teacher education in Kaduna State are visible and impactful. I encourage you to maintain this tempo of excellence,” she said.

Earlier, the Chairman of the union, Dr Christopher Yerima explained that Bako was honoured for her exceptional leadership and keen interest in improving workers’ welfare in the state.

Yerima boasted that the college has 80 PhD holders in various fields of discipline, who were contributing to academic excellence.

He appealed to Gov. Uba Sani to review Order 2 of the 65-year Retirement Policy of the state, adding that its implementation contradicts the College of Education Law of 2018 (as amended).

He explained that the order allows teachers in secondary and basic education to retire at 65 without screening, while academic staff in state tertiary institutions must be screened.

Yerima also called for the release of the White Papers from the last two visitation panels constituted in the last 10 years, to ensure full implementation of the recommendations.

The chairman also requested the construction of internal road networks at the permanent site, and completion of the abandoned administrative block and students’ clinic.

He equally urged the state government to pay the outstanding 30 per cent of the Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure and Consolidated Tertiary Education Institutions Salary Structure.

The Provost of the college, Dr Ayuba Aku, highlighted the college’s recent achievements, including receiving Joint Administration and Matriculation Board’s award as the top-performing College of Education in Nigeria for 2025 admissions.

Aku, represented by the Deputy Provost, Administration, Dr Grace Tabat, said that the college is one of the best in the country.

Chairman of the occasion, Associate Prof. Bashir Idris, commended COEASU for fostering a culture of excellence and hard work.

Idris urged award recipients to continue serving humanity with dedication and to inspire others through exemplary conduct.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that former provosts, serving management and academic staff of the college were also honoured at the event, for their contributions to the growth and development of the college.

They include Mr Ishaya Dare Akau, former Provost of the College, and Malam Abdullahi Mohammad, who equally served as acting Provost of the college.

Others are the Registrar of the College, Mr Elisha Bisalla, other academic staff and Director-General, Kaduna State Facilities Management Agency, Mr Adamu Magaji.