Public primary schools in Edo State have witnessed a high influx of pupils from private schools across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state, due to the total transformation of the Basic Education Sector in the state. EdoBEST is changing lives and pupils in public primary schools across the state are at the center stage.
School begins with excitement and enthusiasm as Edo State returns to the full subject curriculum structure. Pupils have returned to school and EdoBEST has kicked off with new learning materials and textbooks for all subjects which comprises of Mathematics, English Studies, Basic Sciences and Technology, Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning, Civic Education, Edo language, Christain Religious Studies, Islamic Religious Knowledge and Physical Health Education. Parents are advised to support their children to be in school early in order to take advantage of all the investments made by the government in view to drive quality education for all Edolites.
A glance at the statistics of achievement of the EdoBEST program:
Over 11,356 Teachers and Headteachers trained on the use of modern technology to enhance teaching delivery and learning outcomes.
234 public primary schools renovated with playground.
Over 12,000 pupils’ furniture (desks and chairs) distributed.
More than 1 million free textbooks distributed to over 270,000 pupils of public primary schools.
An active trained School Basic Management Committee (SBMC) in communities across the state.
With these milestone achievements, EdoBEST has greeted with positive results where a total number of 3,781 children were admitted into public primary schools across the 18 LGAs on the first week of school resumption. Approximately 2,057 out of the 3,781 pupils were from private schools.
Flash Stories
Mr Ifa Enehizena is a parent who withdrew his child, Miss Gift Enehizena from a private school to be registered at the newly constructed Evbotubu Primary School in Egor LGA. “According to him, with the new school building in my area and the good things people are saying about public primary school because of EdoBEST, I decided to enroll my child at Evbotubu Primary School. More so that the new school is very close to my house” -Mr Enehizena said.
Mrs.. Okoeguale Rose, decided to withdraw her child, Miss Okoeghale Efu from a private school in Ekpoma and enrolled her in Primary 4 at Dova Primary School in Esan West LGA. According to her, “I removed my daughter from private school and brought her to government school because I heard they now teach very well and pupils now have free textbooks in government schools.”
These stories are not different at Sule Primary School in Apana, Inigbi Primary School Elele in Etsako West and Adesuwa Primary School Benin City Oredo, amongst others inspiring stories which have a significant number of increase in pupil’s enrolment in this new term, majority of them coming from private schools.
EdoBEST has changed the narrative with the total transformation of the Basic Education Sector by the Governor Godwin Obaseki Led Administration. Pupils are eager to learn and teachers are now motivated, while teaching now begins on the first day of school resumption in a conducive learning environment.
