Kogi assembly regrets poor education sector

The Kogi State House of Assembly has lamented on the poor state of education in the state,with a call on stakeholders to rally round and salvage the sector.

The House Committee on Education, Science and Technology,  while working on the 2017 budget, said urgent steps should be taken to revive the sector.

The chairman of the committee, Abdulkareem Kekere, stated this  during the 2017 budget defence of the state Ministry of Education Science and Technology.

According to him, the education sector in Kogi state is in shambles and therefore called for total overhauling, urging the state government to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to salvage it.

Kekere said the activities of the House over the budget would go a long way to address the critical areas in the sector as the committee would allocate funds to the critical areas in line with the new direction policy of the present administration.

He noted that said oversight functions on the appropriated funds would be vigorously pursued as the assembly was determined to give value to any money spent.

The state Commissioner for Education, Sunday Tolorunleke,  said the ministry was ambitious and optimistic about the 2017 budget.

The commissioner said, “With the vision of quality education for all and the mission to enhance accessible and affordable education services in all ties, the 2017 proposal was developed based on the new direction blueprint. The global recession and the grim of the nation’s economy with all the associated challenges were not undermined in the preparation.”

According to him,  a total revenue of N807.35m had been projected in education levies, examination fees,  sales of pamphlets, fingerlings and sanitizers.

This, he said, represented an increase of N550m, representing 214 per cent.