An advocacy group in Akwa Ibom State, under the aegis of ‘Eye Witness Network’, has raised concerns over the non-implementation of the education roadmap enacted by the immediate past administration, saying it would deprive the state of over 300,000 books to public school libraries promised by the US Government
The group led by a renowned journalist and editor of Rainbow Magazine, Mr. Kris Ekefre, said the roadmap was initiated by former Governor Udom Emmanuel to address the decay in the education subsector and turn around the Akwa Ibom Educational system.
Recall that the Akwa Ibom State Government had organized a maiden education summit, held between the 5th and 6th of September 2019.
At the summit, the government set up a state think-tank committee on education, chaired by Mr Hillary Inyang, a Professor of Geoenvironmental Engineering, which came up with a-10 year education roadmap (2020-2030) containing holistic, strategic and foresighted plans, actions, interventions, and timelines.
Prof Inyang had described the roadmap as a “vision targeted at preparing Akwa Ibom State for the 4th Industrial revolution through education and innovation”.
Within the short term, 2020-2024, the committee recommended improvement in physical infrastructure, equipment and furnishing enhancement, remediation in the teaching and teachers’ welfare, educational programmes and process improvement, etc.
Speaking with our Correspondent in Uyo on Friday, Ekefre frowned at the deviation and non-implementation of the roadmap which, according to him, would have catalysed the industrial revolution and socioeconomic growth in the state’s education sector amongst other benefits.
He said a Professor of Geoenvironmental Engineering, and educationist, Hilary Inyang headed the 17-member think-tank which drew up the roadmap for the state.
Ekefre lamented that the state has not shown enough commitment towards completing and implementing all the phases of the roadmap, adding that even the first phase of the roadmap which was completed during the past administration had yet to be implemented.
“There was a roadmap that was initiated by former governor, Udom Gabriel Emmanuel in 2019, it has a body called Education Think-Tank, comprising academic professors within and outside the state
“There was a template for the education roadmap which so much money was sunk in, with 17 member group from Nigeria and Diaspora (professors and high profile academia), very willing to deliver.
”They were to finish the master plan within six months, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they couldn’t finish in six months, so there was a spillover to nine months for the first phase of the educational roadmap to be concluded.
“The first template which was the first phase of the roadmap finished, the narrative edition of the road map was completed remaining 40% for the enabling act from the state House of Assembly to actually come up, so that the road map can have something to stand on.
“The first phase of the Educational roadmap that was completed during the past administration has not been implemented till today.
“And the second phase which is the narrative edition has not been completed for the enabling law to emerge as a pedestal to support documents for grant, donor agencies like the World Bank to access those materials.
“‘If they had finished the roadmap faithfully, the American government had promised to send 300,000 books in the first instance to public school libraries in Akwa Ibom” he explained.
He, however, frowned at the falsehood published in some newspapers (not Tribune) that the state had secured 300,000 books from the American Government when the actual procurement or shipment was not completed.
“It is wrong to say something that was not done and it was published in the state paper” he stressed.
“And I doubt what Governor Umo Eno will tell his people come August this year when he travels to the USA for a yearly convention of Akwa Ibom people there because they will ask him about the roadmap as the African-American Engineer, Professor Hillary Inyang, who led the team will be there”. He wondered.
Reacting to the points raised by the advocacy group, the commissioner of Information in the state, Comrade Ini Ememobong, refuted the claim that the roadmap is not being implemented, saying that the foundation of the roadmap is what Governor Umo Eno-led administration is doing in terms of infrastructures and even curriculum.
He said, “The roadmap is the foundation, the underpinning of education blueprint of Akwa Ibom State, if you see what this administration is doing in infrastructures and even in curriculum, the fundamentals of the academic blueprint and education roadmap are the basis of what this government is doing in education”.
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