The Executive Chairman of the Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Prof Femi Akinwumi has said that the recent approval granted by Governor, Abayomi Oyebanji for the payment of over N1.2billion Matching Grants to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) under the UBEC/SUBEB 2022 Intervention project would further improve teaching and learning environment in public Schools in the state.
Speaking at a five-day training programme for Quality Assurance Officers and selected teachers in public primary schools held in Ado Ekiti, the SUBEB Boss disclosed that the State was one of the first five States in the country to access the 2022 UBEC/SUBEB Intervention Funds under which over 28 blocks of new school buildings including 10 creches would be constructed.
According to him, over 60 dilapidated school buildings would also be renovated, while a substantial number of pupils and teachers furniture would be supplied and conscious efforts would be made to provide water and sanitation facilities including new toilets and boreholes in not less than 40 public schools in the state.
Prof. Akinwumi stated that this latest development was a continuation of back to back Government intervention in public primary and junior secondary schools which commenced in 2018 under which over 15,000 teachers were trained and over 2000 infrastructural projects including five Model colleges were executed in public primary and junior secondary schools in Ekiti.
He said these steps would go a long way in improving access to basic education amongst children of School age and ultimately help in further reducing the Out of School phenomenon in the state
The SUBEB boss explained that the training programme organized by the board in collaboration with UBEC is part of concerted efforts aimed at putting mechanism in place towards ensuring high quality Basic Education through appropriate quality assurance processes.
He said it also includes prescribing, monitoring, evaluating and maintaining minimum standards in schools especially in the areas of teaching and learning by the quality assurance department in the State.
The Chairman noted that with the huge investment of Government in the Basic Education Sector there was need to put checks in place in the sector through proper monitoring and supervision hence the training programme which is specifically designed to further train the Board’s Quality Assurance Officers and other participants on ways of appraising school effectiveness and efficiency through teaching and learning.
He assured participants of the irrevocable commitment of the State Government to support the Quality Assurance Department in achieving its mandate of improving the quality of teaching and learning in public primary schools in the State through more capacity building programmes and the provision of more equipment and monitoring vehicles
Earlier in his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, SUBEB, Mr Adedayo Ajobiewe stated that the importance of effectiveness of continuous training cannot be overemphasized and it was imperative that participants take full advantage of the program by paying rapt attention to the facilitators.
He noted that the training would go a long way in enhancing the performance of all participants on the field as it would further expose them to new innovations for school evaluation in line with global best practices.
Mr Ajobiewe also stressed that with complete focus, it would greatly aid them in discharging their duties more effectively by so adding value to the Basic Education sector in the State.
“It is my belief that with this program, teaching and learning method in the State will change for the better” he said.
In his goodwill message , the UBEC Executive Secretary , Dr Hammid Bobboyi who spoke through the Deputy Director Quality Assurance Department UBEC, Alhaji Baba Asaju pledged that the Commission would continue to support activities that promote monitoring and prescribe and maintain minimum standards in the basic education sectors across the country .