By: Ade Adeleke
….SUBEB sets to distribute over 4000 chairs & lockers to schools.
The Ondo State government has declared that quality of teachers in its primary schools is currently very high that can compete anywhere in the world.
The Executive Chairman Of Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board, ODSUBEB, Rt Hon Victor Olabimtan, stated this in Akure at the MAIDEN EDITION OF MEET – THE MEDIA PROGRAMME organised by the Board On Tuesday, 6th February, 2024.
Olabimtan said there are NCE holders who are now teaching in Ondo State primary schools unlike in the past that only people with Grade 2 certificates teach pupils.
Olabimtan however assured that the shortage of teachers will be addressed as soon as possible as the Governor has assured that teachers will be recruited soonest.
He commended the State Government for fully implementing full education at the basic education level in Ondo State, noting that teachers’ promotion and development have been regular.
The Former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, appealed to members of the press to support the government in taking education to a higher place in the state, calling on individuals, organisations, groups, and communities to also support the government in ensuring quality education in Ondo State especially at the primary school level.
“As I tell you now, parents are taking their children from private schools to public schools and our attendance has improved.”
He listed achievements of the State government, as the training of over 900 school administrators and the provision of digital devices for attendance management of pupils in schools, adding that uniform teaching modules are facilitated to ensure pupils have access to the same quality teaching across the state.
Olabimtan who put the number of out-of-school children at 240,000 said this scourge is a time bomb waiting to explode.
Olabimtan said the number of underage children coming to Ondo state and other states in the southwest geo-political zone from the Northern region may worsen the security challenges being faced in the region.
Olabimtan stated that the rate of out-of-school children in South West, not leaving out Ondo State, was becoming alarming and every stakeholder must be engaged to address it.
His words “There are about 240,000 out-of-school children in Ondo State. It has become a serious socioeconomic issue because it has become a breeding ground for social and political miscreants. Studies have shown it is a growing menace in this part of the world without leaving out our state.
“This menace is growing every day and needs the efforts of all stakeholders especially the press through reportage and continuous advocacy on the radio and television stations, harping on the advantages of a literate society over the illiterate one.
“This is perhaps what informed the Federal Government to source for fund to finance the development of the basic education sector in the country. Let me use this medium to commend the Management of Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC, Abuja under the leadership of the Executive Secretary Engr Hammad Bobboyi for providing the needed leadership and fund; and Ondo State Government for providing the matching grants to upscale infrastructural and Educational development in Public Primary Schools and some Junior Secondary Schools in the country in order to make our schools more friendly for teaching and learning.
“When this government came on stream in February 24, 2017, the state of infrastructures and quality of curriculum in most of our schools are nothing to write home about. Most of the structures in our Primary Schools were in the State of despair, becoming a haven for dangerous reptiles and men of the underworld and miscreants who have taken over schools as they homes thereby endangering the lives of the Pupils and the teachers alike.
“This was the situation the present Government inherited and the government latched unto the opportunity by paying the matching grants put at over N3.9 billion with additional same amount from UBEC.
“The government was able to turn round the narrative for better. With the fund, the Board has been able to construct, reconstruct and Rehabilitate over 900 classrooms, fences, bole – holes, Toilets, provided learners Chairs and Desks, Tables for their Teachers, ECCD equipment, Sporting equipments as well as Instructional Materials for pupils and their teachers value at over N22 billion to make our schools more attractive for both teaching and learning,” Olabmtan said.
He said that there is no primary school in the State without computer systems and computer teachers, saying that not less than an additional 58 schools would be renovated and fenced while more than 100 will benefit from not less than 4,000 chairs and lockers to be distributed very soon.
The SUBEB Chairman revealed that the State SMART School in Owo was established by UBEC to cater for brilliant pupils across the state and it would commence operations next academic session by September 2024.
He said the Smart School Project birthed by UBEC Abuja is a Special Class of Basic Education Schools meant for gifted pupils to allow them to grow and study at their pace without retardation of any kind.
Olabimtan said the state government had also provided sporting equipment to schools and in the just concluded South West Regional Basic Education School Sports Competition, BESS, Ondo State came first and her athletes will represent the zone at the grand finale at the national level.