The Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum has said nearly half of the primary schools in Borno State were destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents, who have been terrorising the state and other parts of Nigeria for decades.
Borno State is one of the most terrorized state in Nigeria, with thousands of lives lost while many are displaced.
According to governor Zulum, he said the insurgency had resulted in the death of over 100,000 people and the displacement of about two million people in the state.
He also explained further that the insurgents had destroyed over 5,000 school buildings, comprising primary and secondary schools, and tertiary institutions.
The insurgents had also killed over 530 teachers and orphaned 52,293 children.
Zulum gave the figures during the week while addressing multi-national groups in New York, United States of America, towards increasing focus on the education of girls in Nigeria and around the world.
According to a statement by Zulum on his Facebook Page, the figures he gave were official, as non-official figures could even be more.
The governor was a special guest speaker at a programme tagged “Rewrite the Future” which called attention to increased investment in girls’ education around the world.
The event was organised by One Million Teachers-1MT Cares, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), in collaboration with two other NGOs, Girl Rising and the Northeast Children’s Trust.
The Borno State Government has established an Education Trust Fund to augment funding, and has recruited over 1,000 teachers, Zulum told his audience.
He also said the state had built 21 mega schools and rehabilitated dozens of existing schools.
Governor Zulum has also been working hard to reduce the number of out-of-school children in his State, by improving the Educational system with modern facilities.
Also, Prof. Zulum said that because of the peculiarity of the problems, the meagre resources of the state, which were hitherto budgeted for education before 2009, were channelled to security and the upkeep of displaced people within and outside the state.
He, therefore, called for increased funding for the education sector in Borno State.
Zulum noted that Borno had established an Education Trust Fund to augment funding, recruited over 1,000 teachers, built 21 mega schools and rehabilitated dozens of existing schools and provided mobile laboratories for physics, Biology and Chemistry in secondary schools.