MEMBERS of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Services have expressed satisfaction with the standard and quality of projects executed in Oyo State, commending the state for its achievements in the area of basic education.
Speaking after an inspection of projects in Oyo State, the deputy chairman of the committee, Honourable Usman Zanna (APC, Borno), said the state under Governor Seyi Makinde has lived up to its name as a pacesetter by surpassing all expectations.
Zana, who led a delegation of the committee to the state on an oversight visit to inspect and assess the level of utilisation of the Federal Government’s matching grant released to the state for the development of basic education infrastructuresaid only Oyo State has paid part of its counterpart funding in 2021.
He added that this attests to the state government’s commitment to the improvement of education in the state.
Receiving the delegation at the state executive chamber, the Oyo State deputy governor, Rauf Olaniyan, said the education drive of the state government is responsible for the drastic reduction in the number of out-of-school children in the state, adding that the current administration prioritises education.
Olaniyan noted that one of the cardinal points of the Makinde-led administration is education, saying the state hopes to regain its pace-setting status by ranking first in the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)before the end of the administration’s tenure in 2023.
He said the state government is committed to infrastructural development and capacity-building for schools in Oyo State, payment of counterpart funds as well as maintaining a cordial relationship with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), towards improving the state of education in the state.
Speaking earlier, the chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (Oyo SUBEB), Dr Nureni Adeniran, stated that the team had inspected the projects embarked upon by the state government in collaboration with UBEC and were satisfied with the level of work done.
Dr Adeniran revealed that the Oyo State government had paid the backlog of the counterpart funding to UBEC, and the payment of all required funding, including the counterpart funds for 2020/2021 Intervention projects.
He enjoined the committee to facilitate the release of funds and all other necessary donations due to Oyo State from the UBEC, including the yet-to-be assessed $3 million advance funds for ‘Better Education Service Delivery,’ which is a World Bank assisted loan.
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