Fayose laments Ekiti’s N4bn ‘stuck’ in UBEC

• Plans parents’ summit

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has lamented the N4billion of the state’s funds he said was stuck at the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

He claimed that “the state cannot access over N4 billion from the UBEC, in Abuja, because of the diversion of N850 million by the previous administration in 2012.”

Governor Fayose said “the diversion led to the suspension of the state from UBEC activities, leading to the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) lacking resources to execute its projects.”

He was quoted to have stated this during a meeting with members and leaders of the Ekiti State chapter of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) in Ado-Ekiti.

The governor, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adwlusi, also said a Parents’ Summit would soon be held in the state to further sensitise parents on their roles in the provision of quality education for their children.

He described parents and teachers as critical stakeholders in the education sector.

The governor added that all critical stakeholders in the education sector must be alive to their responsibilities for the gains recorded in the sector by the state to be maintained.

He, however, cautioned private school owners against compromising standards by engaging unqualified teachers because they want to record huge profits.

He promised good working relationship between the government and the association, just as he said the state would donate a bus to it.

“We want to work together and sustain the gains we have recorded in recent times. Without you, public schools alone cannot give us the glorious level we have attained now. Quality education is what we need. Ekiti has an identity as the Fountain of Knowledge,” he said.

Fayose urges NAPPS members on education with good manners, noting that the level of moral decadence in the country was too high.

In his speech, Ekiti State chairman of NAPPS, Alhaji Saka Adeleye, commended Governor Fayose for turning around the sector which led to the state coming first in the recent examinations conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO).

“We will continue to partner with the government to lift education and help the state sustain the glory. We will work hard to do that and improve standards in schools.

“We will appeal to members to get facilities upgraded in our schools and during the celebration of Teachers’ Day, we want our members to be carried along too. We are happy that the backlog of Primary School Leaving Certificates has been processed and we can now collect for our former pupils,” he said.