The attention of the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board has been drawn to a photograph on the social media about the condition of Ufa Primary School in Akoko Edo Local Government Area of the State. The photograph captured pupils learning on bare floor.
Irrespective of the intention of the poster, good or bad, as a body we are pleased that the citizenry have begun to take the quality of education provided pupils of the State with a renewed passion and vigour and this we can ascribe to the revolutionary transformation currently ongoing at the basic education sub-sector of the State and the awareness campaign being carried out by the Board on behalf of the Edo State Government.
From the onset, the Governor Godwin Obaseki administration has made it clear, that the provision of quality education for pupils of the State in a serene and conducive environment is at the vanguard of its objectives. This is the brain behind the Edo BEST initiative; an initiative that has begun to transform our public schools into realistic citadels of learning and has become an education model to most States of the federation.
It is the objective of this administration that no pupil would have to learn in a non-conducive environment. It is against this backdrop that the State Government just recently, embarked on a massive renovation/construction of two hundred and thirty two (232) public primary schools across every ward of the state as a first phase of its school rehabilitation plan. In addition, more schools have been earmarked to be constructed in thirty three (33) oil producing communities within the State.
Contractors have been issued deadlines and marching orders to ensure these schools are completed within a short and stipulated period so that more schools can be captured in the renovation/construction exercise. School furniture are being produced and distributed to schools. The citizens of the State at large, as well as the indigenes and residents of Akoko Edo Local Government Area in particular, should therefore be aware that the situation with Ufa Primary School will be a thing of the past in no distant time as the State Government is committed to seeing that public Schools in such conditions are urgently rehabilitated and resuscitated.
The good people of the State are aware of the transformation programme in the basic education sub-sector. Since the launch of the Edo BEST programme over a year ago, about seven thousand (7,000) teachers and head teachers have been trained in digital pedagogy for the purpose of transforming our quality of education to meet with world class standards and provide our pupils with the enabling environment to compete effectively with pupils in the developed world as well as prepare them for a future laced with technology.
Over six hundred and twelve (612) public primary schools have been incorporated into the initiative so far and more than one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) pupils of the State are current beneficiaries of the initiative with over eight hundred thousand (800,000) textbooks distributed for free to pupils.
Still, the Government is not resting on its oars. More schools are being earmarked to be incorporated into Edo BEST with more teachers ready to be trained in our new tech-based and modern method of teaching and learning.
It is therefore salient that the good people of the State continue to give the Government the necessary support and constantly draw the Board’s attention to grey areas that need quick or urgent fixes as long as they arise from genuine intent. We will not rest until every school meets the required standards and every pupil is assured a quality learning in a safe, serene and conducive environment. This is our sworn duty and we will carry it out to its fullest.
Edo BEST provides quality education for every child.
Photo Caption: Data representation of work done so far in public primary schools, and some schools currently undergoing renovation/construction.
