There is no gainsaying the fact that Ogun is one of the most educationally advanced states in Nigeria. Regrettably, the education sector was virtually on the precipice at the inception of the present administration led by Prince Dapo Abiodun. Determined to re-write the narrative, the governor proactively declared a state of emergency in the sector.
“The state of education in the state is worrisome. We have been regaled with stories of unpaid salaries, poor funding, moribund projects, controversial campus relocations and workers’ strikes, among others. Confidence has been eroded and unless we act quickly, education which is already in serious trouble will get worse,” he had said.
The governor affirmed that restoring the lost glory of the sector required an urgent, comprehensive and holistic approach. For instance, the inherited crisis in tertiary institutions, especially the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta (MAPOLY) and Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu, Ijebu were promptly addressed with immediate restoration of full academic activities at the institutions. Governor Abiodun also inaugurated a fact-finding committee to look into the operational modalities of MAUSTECH, Abeokuta and Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia.
Obviously, the state of infrastructure in public schools across the state was also of utmost concern to the administration. To reverse the trend, the government swung into action with the renovation of school buildings and provision of infrastructure. In this regard, it promptly facilitated the release of 2014-2017 UBE matching grant which translated into execution of 952 E+education projects, spread across the 236 wards of the state with a total number of 94 blocks of classrooms for public primary schools delivered so far.
Similarly, the wife of the governor, Mrs Bamidele Abiodun, also complemented government’s efforts through her strategic linkage and partnership with Learn Africa Plc which donated textbooks and other teaching materials to public primary schools in the state.
The infrastructural development by the state government was also extended to higher institutions, including the Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa, with the construction and provision of 2,000 capacity twin-lecture theatre, ICT centre and rehabilitation of 1,500-capacity multi-purpose hall, while ICT Polytechnic, Sapade got a 2000-seater Mechanical Engineering complex with internal roads being rehabilitated.
Also, government abolished indiscriminate fees and levies in primary and secondary schools, thus paving way for the entrenchment of free education policy of the administration, a gesture which has led to increase in students’ enrolment from 430,859 to 445,233 within a year. To give fillip to this, payment of running cost to public primary and secondary schools and technical colleges has been resuscitated to discourage illegal fees collection and enhance smooth administration. Similarly, payment of monthly subventions to the state-owned tertiary institutions has been restored.
The education-friendly administration also took over 28 community schools, and, in the process, absorbed 578 teaching and non-teaching staff of those schools. To further reposition teaching and learning in the schools, the governor gave the nod to the absorption of 41 Teach for Nigeria (TFN) fellows, a programme which has impacted positively on students.
Apart from organising a stakeholders’ meeting which provided an avenue for cross-fertilization of ideas on the way forward, school administrators and teachers in the state’s public schools have continued to benefit from different training programmes to boost their productivity.
The government sponsored the representatives of the state All Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) to a leadership training in Dubai, a gesture which the ANCOPSS president, Dr (Mrs) Womiloju, described as unprecedented in the state. Among other capacity building programmes organised for the state teaching workforce include: training of 1000 English Language and Mathematics teachers of the state public secondary schools to improve performance of students in external examinations; capacity building for 836 quality assurance officers in the ministry of education for effective performance of duties; and training of 1,500 STEM teachers in collaboration with online hub educational services with the support of Google. The state government also facilitated training for 100 primary and 150 secondary school teachers in collaboration with an NGO, West African Vocational Education (WAVE) on soft skills for effective teaching delivery in classrooms.
Without mincing words, the establishment of the OGUN TECHUB in Abeokuta, could be described as the icing on the cake in terms of capacity building in the education sector. This is a platform where citizens can connect, share and build new skills and competence to solve local challenges that improve the quality of life.
With the allocation of 20 per cent of the state budget to the education sector, and the strategic partnership to boost the sector, there is no doubt that the Prince Dapo Abiodun administration has, within a year in office, injected life into the ailing education sector.
Onasanya is a director of Information in Ogun State
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