THE Oyo State government last Thursday commenced the implementation of Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) in the state, to eradicate illiteracy and enhance access to quality education.
Governor Seyi Makinde stated this during a policy dialogue workshop on the implementation of BESDA held at the Emeritus Professor Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall in Ibadan.
Speaking on his behalf, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Alhaja Faosat Sanni, said the initiative would increase access to better education in the state, and that about 272,847 out-of-school children would be beneficiaries.
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While calling for an all-inclusive participatory implementation of the programme, the governor explained that the objective of the programme is to increase access to education for the out-of-school children, improve literacy rate and retain them in schools at the basic education level.
The commissioner commended the free education policy of the Seyi Makinde administration, which she noted had yielded an increase in the return of children to public schools across the state.
While appreciating the World Bank and the Universal Basic Education Commission for their financial and technical supports, Alhaja Sanni added that “Oyo State, as one of the beneficiaries, will ensure judicious use of funds to improve literacy and strengthen accountability for result.”
In his speech, the executive chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr. Nureni Adeniran, affirmed that the main objective of the programme is to eradicate child abuse and other vices in the society.
“BESDA programme will help in eliminating child abuse and child labour, improve health and hygiene, promote self-reliance, increase economic growth and enhance social strength of the nation while eliminating the incidence of out-of-school-children,” he said.
He urged parents and guardians to ensure the literacy of their wards, and teachers to be dedicated to their duties to revive the education sector.
Facilitators at the workshop, Professor Rashid Adewumi Aderinoye and a former chairman of the board, Dr. Suleiman Adediran, called on all stakeholders, including government and its various agencies, school-based management committees, and school governing boards, to monitor and evaluate basic education system for better students’ performance in the state.
Other speakers at the event which heralded the commencement of BESDA activities in the state included the zonal director, UBEC, Mrs. Roseline Medubi, who called on all stakeholders, particularly parents, to join hands with government to solve the problem of out-of-school children in the state.
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