Governor Kayode Fayemi
Toba Suleiman in Ado-Ekiti
Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has inaugurated no fewer than 7,880 chairs and desks for immediate distribution to all primary and junior secondary schools across the state.
Besides, the governor will today flag-off the commencement of Operation Renovate All Schools in Ekiti (ORASE) in the three senatorial districts.
Speaking in Ado Ekiti at the flag-off of the furniture and tree planting, the governor stated that the state government places high premium on the education sector, saying that it was expedient to mobilise all resources available to government to rescue the sector from the rot that has displaced it from taking the lead in Nigeria’s education system as well as ensure quality education for the younger generation.
Fayemi said the decision to revamp the sector was not a mere pledge but an “irrevocable contract” that he has with the people of the state to salvage the ailing condition of education, hence the multi-dimensional and pragmatic approach to education reform since he assumed office in 2010.
He added that the distribution of the furniture was not only aimed at ensuring the comfort of pupils in the classroom but also create a conducive learning environment that would assist in how well they assimilate their studies.
On the renovation of schools, the governor said 100 out of the 180 schools in the state would wear a new look as they would not only be rebuilt but would also be equipped with 40,000 tables and chairs in the next two months.
Fayemi who planted some trees, said this was a necessary step in complementing the force of nature as the world is faced with challenges of global warming.
He added that the trees, on maturity, would not only perform the wind breaking role but also add to the beauty of the environment.
Speaking on the distribution of the graduation gowns, he said the gesture was get the attention of parents who are endeared to some high profile schools on turning their graduating pupils out in colourful graduating ceremony like a university convocation; stressing that this is only in glamour of accomplishments resulting from hard work.
In her remarks, the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Prof. Modupe Adelabu, said the distribution of furniture and tree planting were geared towards creating a pupil-friendly environment where teaching and learning, supported with instructional materials, can take place.
Adelabu hinted that by the beginning of the 2012/2013 academic session, a new set of 7,880 chairs and desks would have been distributed to both primary and Junior Secondary Schools for the use of both pupils and their teachers.
She said the present administration had invested so much in the education sector.
and the efforts are already yielding positive results.
Also the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Eniola Ajayi commended the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for living up to expectation in the manner of its operation.
Ajayi recalled that the capacity development programmes organised for teachers in varying subject areas as well as the enrolment drive of the Board had produced positive results as pupils’ enrolment for the just concluded 2011/2012 session had increased within a short time.
She added that the open-day introduced by SUBEB under Professor Adelabu has in no small measure improved pupils-teachers-parents relationship and has helped in curbing pupils’ truancy in school.