Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, has said his administration will immediately begin implementing recommendations contained in a taskforce report on the reform and revitalisation of basic and technical education in the state.
Yahaya also disclosed that his administration had commenced structural reforms in the education sector, including the merger of the Ministries of Education and Higher Education into a single ministry.
The governor stated this on Friday while receiving the report of the Taskforce Committee on the Reforms and Revitalisation of Basic and Technical Education in Gombe State.
The report was presented by a member of the committee and educationist, Tom Maiyashi, alongside the Commissioner for Education, Dr Aishatu Maigari, who chaired the taskforce.
Yahaya described the report as a critical blueprint for transforming the state’s education system, assuring that his administration would not shelve the recommendations.
“On the report, I want to assure you that we are not going to abandon this document. We shall study it immediately and begin implementation of the recommendations,” the governor said.
He explained that the ongoing restructuring was aimed at strengthening coordination, improving policy implementation and enhancing service delivery across the education sector.
“We will do structural adjustments in the education sector. I can even say that we have started because I have now merged the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Education to become one ministry, which is what is obtainable even at the federal level,” he stated.
According to him, the reforms are part of broader efforts to reposition education in line with the state’s 10-year development agenda, DEVAGOM.
Yahaya said his administration was determined to introduce bold policy measures capable of improving learning outcomes and producing a skilled workforce equipped for the future.
The governor also reflected on the condition of the state’s education sector when his administration assumed office in 2019, saying several interventions had since been undertaken to address infrastructure, teacher development, school enrolment and access to quality education.
“We knew how we met this sector when we came into office in 2019, and we thank God that we have been able to achieve so much,” he said.
Yahaya reiterated his pledge to leave the state’s education sector better than he found it, saying the government would continue to invest in reforms that would benefit future generations.
“I want to reiterate the pledge I made that we will leave Gombe better than we met it in the education sector. That commitment remains unwavering, and we shall continue to invest in reforms that will guarantee quality education for our children and future generations,” he said.
Presenting the report on behalf of the taskforce, Maiyashi commended the governor for constituting the committee and providing the political support required for its assignment.
Maiyashi, a former Commissioner for Education in Kaduna State, said the report was an honest assessment of the challenges confronting basic and technical education in Gombe.
He said the committee’s recommendations were practical and implementable, urging the state government to move swiftly from policy formulation to execution.
“The recommendations are practical, realistic and fully implementable,” Maiyashi said, expressing confidence that their implementation would transform the state’s education system.
He said the reforms, if faithfully implemented, could position Gombe as a model for educational excellence.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Education, Maigari, said the taskforce was inaugurated in November 2025 to undertake a comprehensive assessment of basic and technical education across the state.
She said the committee was mandated to develop actionable strategies, recommend practical reforms and address challenges undermining the effective delivery of education in the state.
According to her, the committee examined critical areas including teacher-related challenges, infrastructure deficits, governance and administration, student welfare, learning conditions, security and community-related issues affecting schools.
She said the findings informed the recommendations contained in eight priority reform clusters requiring urgent government attention.
Maigari commended the governor for demonstrating political will by assembling a team of experienced education professionals and policymakers to undertake the review.
The taskforce included Maigari; former Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education, Dr Nura A. Yakubu; former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, Dr Hamid Bobboyi; Maiyashi; Dr Sadiq Gombe, who is also the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board; and the Permanent Secretary, Special Services and Political, Government House, Gombe.
The state government said the implementation of the recommendations would complement ongoing interventions and provide a more coordinated approach to addressing longstanding challenges in basic and technical education.
