Plateau to spend N12.2 bn on education in 2019 — Commissioner

The Plateau Government is to spend N12.2 billion on the education sector in 2019, Mr Sylvester Wallangko,  Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, said on Wednesday in Jos.

Wallangko, while giving a breakdown of the recently signed budget, said that the figure represents 17.94 percent of the state’s capital expenditure.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the state’s House of Assembly recently passed the N153.5 billion 2019 budget submitted by Gov Simon Lalong last year.

The document was signed into law by the governor last week.

Out of the N153.5 billion budget size, N85.4 billion, representing 55.37 percent, will go into recurrent expenditure, while N68.1 billion, representing 44.33 percent, is capital expenditure.

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Wallangko said that the education vote would be deployed into completing on-going renovation and construction of secondary schools and tertiary institutions.

“Plateau State University, Bokkos is to be allocated N4.8 billion; the Plateau State Polytechnic will get N818 million, College of Education. Gindiri, N785.5 million, while College of Arts, Science Remedial Studies gets N373.1 million.

“In the same vein, N1.7 billion is provided a matching grant from the state to access grants from Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for the construction/upgrading of educational facilities.

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“Government also plans to construct six model secondary schools which will gulp N1billion, earmarked N296 million for payment of scholarship allowances of students studying within and outside the country,’’ he said.

The commissioner also N500 million was earmarked for the renovation/building of 15 secondary schools, with five to be cited in each of the three senatorial zones.

“Renovation and building of Government Technical College Bukuru will take N100 million.’’

Other projects in the sector, according to Wallangko, include the construction of eight model primary schools under the Lalong legacy projects at the cost of N500 million.