…visits Niger College, recommits to revamping education
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said his government remains focused on delivering all campaign promises made to Edo people before leaving office on November 12, 2024.
The governor gave the assurance when he visited Niger College in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, alongside the Commissioner of Education, Dr. Joan Osa-Oviawe, and other top government functionaries.
Obaseki noted that elections are over and he is focused on going around to monitor and ensure that all the projects embarked on or started by the government are on course and should be completed before 2024.
He said, “We would like to be remembered for re-enacting education in Edo State. We have restructured basic education which is the foundation from primary one to JSS 3. And now, we have started the process of restructuring our secondary schools but unfortunately, the federal government policy on secondary schools is very weak and unclear.
“But for basic education, we have the Universal Basic Education Act and Fund that helps support funding of infrastructure at the basic level but that doesn’t exist at the secondary school level. As a State, we have decided as part of our policy to look for money to begin the process of rebuilding our secondary schools, starting with selected ones with a high population.
“We want to rebuild the infrastructure, ensure they have adequate teaching staff, and introduce technology and all these will be funded by the state government without any financial support from the federal government.”
Obaseki further noted, “We will step back using our SEEFOR model and funds, going forward, to build secondary schools rather than build more SEEFOR roads. We want to start and see how many we can complete before the end of this administration and also have a road map for subsequent administrations on how to make sure that our secondary and technical schools are built, and they will have a plan on ground to rebuild these schools. We will start with Niger College.”
On her part, Dr. Osa-Oviawe said, “We want to come in, infrastructural wise, with what we call the smart design. The governor has instructed us to do proper planning of the school to include a playground and play area to engage students in sporting and other athletic activities.
“Disarticulation is being done in phases and beginning in September, we will begin to see schools physically disarticulated but schools like Niger College where there are no existing primary schools or vacant land, as the school is well built up, we would think up other solutions. In a couple of months from now, the Ministry of Education is going to be publishing a list of our secondary schools and how they will be disarticulated so that the public will be well informed.”
She added, “Under the smart design programme, we will re-arrange the space and structures to enable functionality for the student. We are commencing with selected schools. We will start with the design and come up with the survey coordinate of this school and start the process of renovation of this school.”
