Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) on Thursday commended the Kwara State government for exemplary use of funds so far accessed from the commission for school infrastructures.
Speaking with journalists shortly after inspecting some of the newly constructed SUBEB schools and UBEC Model Smart School in Ilorin, the Deputy Executive Secretary (Services) of UBEC, Dr Isiaka Kolawole, said, “We can see value for money here”.
“The funds are well applied. The outcomes are great. This is what we will actually encourage other states to do. Kwara state is doing very well. I have seen things by myself and I can give kudos to the chairman and his team”, he said.
Dr Kolawole, who urged other states of the country to emulate Kwara’s latest investments in the education sector, said that the commission had an unpleasant experience with the state in the past over the utilisation of matching grants that were meant for the development of basic education.
The commission added, however, that the situation changed with the coming of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
Asked to comment on what the state had missed in the past, Kolawole said: “We know what we went through in managing some states but Kwara State (today) is not one of those states giving us headache except what we had gone through in the hands of Kwara State in the years back. Under this dispensation, the state has been wonderful.
“Kwara has missed a lot. Average Kwara child has also been put at a great disadvantage. Now, the pupils stand the chance to receive good standard education delivery.
“There is no way you won’t have some states that will be lagging behind in many areas, while some will be in the forefront setting the pace. We have many states doing well too, but definitely, some states have performed better whether in the areas of fund utilisation and in accessing the funds.”
Also speaking, the Chairman, Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Professor Raheem Adaramaja, said that the board is elated with the positive commendation from UBEC adding that it would spur it to do more for the state.
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“No commendation comes to us without hardwork. We give glory to God Almighty and we also thank our Governor for his leadership. He gave us every opportunity to triumph and we are working towards that. We are happy for that. We are going to improve on what we are doing”, he said.
“Presently, our presence is felt in all the 193 wards in the state. After the construction we started, we are now putting on digital literacy. This will also be extended to various schools in the state.”
Professor Adaramaja added that the board would from next month begin free distribution of textbooks to pupils on English language, Mathematics, Basic Science and Technology and Social Studies, starting with primary four, five and six.
UBEC team inspected Burhanudeen LGEA School Ojagboro; Government Day Secondary School Amule; and UBEC Model Smart School Adeta in Ilorin.
The government is fixing schools across the state in a bid to make the learning environment more conducive and, along with other efforts, to improve learning outcomes.
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