One year of Edo-BEST: Stakeholders laud Obaseki on revamp of basic education as govt lists achievements

 

…8700 teachers trained; 7094 teaching tabs distributed

 

…enrolment increase by 20,000

Stakeholders in the education sector have commended Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki-led administration for revamping the state’s basic education sector through the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) programme, noting that the initiative has revolutionized the sector.

A cross-section of stakeholders, who spoke to journalists, said in the last one year, the state government has shown rare commitment to improving learning outcomes at the basic level of education resulted in the training of over 8000 teachers on the use of digital tools in primary schools across the state.

They hailed the renovation of schools across the state, noting that the governor’s sincere and systematic approach to addressing challenges in the basic education sector cannot go unnoticed.

Mrs Esther Ehiagwina, a parent with two pupils in Emotan Primary School, said the intervention of the state government has saved public education at the basic level and boosted the confidence of parents who have now returned their wards to public primary and junior secondary schools across the state.

“What I can tell you is that with all the reforms carried out by the state government, we have seen a tremendous change in teaching and learning at the schools. It has made parents like me confident in the system. After the teachers were trained and dilapidated schools repaired in my area, I had no choice but to bring back my kids to the school,” she said.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie said, one year ago, Governor Obaseki initiated Edo-BEST which deployed a mix of approaches to tackle challenges facing the basic education sub-sector, noting, “The state government’s vision for sustainable development can only be achieved when children at the basic education level get the best of education in line with modern trends and global standards. This will make children learning in public schools across the state globally competitive.”

He explained, “Not less than 8,700 teachers have been trained on modern teaching techniques to improving learning outcomes in 931 schools across the state. 170,000 pupils electronic records have been created which has made it easy for parents to keep tab of the progress of their wards in schools. 20,000 new students have enrolled in public schools in the last year,” Osagie added.

He said 234 schools across the state are under renovation/construction, which is a deliberate effort by the state government to improve conducive teaching and learning environment, noting, “a School-based Management Committee (SBMC) has been constituted with 11,688 of its members trained to improve monitoring and community participation in the running of the schools. Not less than 7,094 gadgets/teaching tabs have been distributed to teachers and head teachers. While about 900,000 free textbooks in various subjects have been distributed to pupils.”

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