Kwara State Government has converted all the Almajiri schools in the state to conventional schools to reduce the number of school drop-outs and transform the education sector.

Alhaji Lanre Daibu, Chairman, Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), stated this on Monday in Ilorin while fielding questions from newsmen in his office.

He said most of the schools were located within the Ilorin West and Kaiama local government areas of the state.

He said that necessary facilities and instructional materials had been provided in the schools, adding that the Federal Government had also provided necessary textbooks for the schools.

Daibu said that the federal government also gave approval for SUBEB to employ Mathematics and English Language teachers for the schools.

"We have converted the Almajiri schools to conventional schools, and this is well appreciated by stakeholders.

"What we want to do is to curb the issue of out-of-school children,'' he said.

Daibu said that the board had established Information Communication Technology (ICT) centres across the 16 local government areas of the state, adding that the centres would monitor the performance of teachers check absenteeism and truancy.

He stated that the board was working to reposition basic education in the state, adding that students' performance in external examinations had improved over the years. (NAN)