Ibrahim Oyewale, Lokoja
Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has distributed 11, 000 free textbooks to all Senior Secondary School (SSS 2) students in public schools across the three senatorial districts state.
The donation of the Chemistry and Physics textbooks was sponsored by Mr. Ahmad Usman Ododo, the Kogi Auditor General of Local Government in support of the State Government’s School Adoption and Mentorship Programme.
While speaking at the flag-off ceremony at Abdulaziz Atta Memorial College, Okene during the weekend, the governor commended the donor for the gesture in supporting education in the state.
The governor who was represented by the State’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Wemi Jones, said his administration had given topmost priority to education, especially Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Bello emphasised that his commitment to revamping the education sector in the state necessitated the 30 per cent allocation to education in the 2022 budget beyond the UNESCO benchmark of 26 per cent.
This, he said had been reflected in the execution of massive education infrastructure projects as well as the ongoing recruitment of qualified secondary school teachers across the state.
Bello noted that aside from building school infrastructure, the government was committed to equipping the schools with well-qualified teachers.
He explained that the teachers’ recruitment had reached the final stage after the aptitude tests and the oral interviews were concluded, saying the final list was waiting for final approvals.
He added that the state had enacted an education law which empowered the ministry to sanction any person or group who tried to jeopardise the government’s efforts in revamping education in the state.
He emphasised that the state government had shown sufficient commitment, hence the need for individuals and organisations to support the government’s efforts through its School Adoption and Mentorship Programme.
He, therefore commended the donor, Ododo for providing 11,000 Physics and Chemistry textbooks to public schools in the state, describing it, ”as the biggest intervention by an individual in the sector so far.”
He said after the distribution at Kogi Central, the textbooks would subsequently be distributed to schools in Kogi West and East senatorial districts.
He further disclosed that another Kogi citizen had promised to provide mathematics textbooks for the students.
He urged all the political appointees, well-meaning individuals and organisations to embrace the state’s school adoption and mentorship programme
