Kwara: We have reshaped public perception about teaching - AbdulRazaq

Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq have said that the state government had worked endlessly to reshape the public perception about teaching by engaging the best minds into the system.

AbdulRazaq said this at the ongoing Kwara Education Futures Summit, held in Ilorin, the state capital.

In his speech, the Governor said:

 

Today opens a new chapter in our quest for a new Kwara. My team and I believe that sustainable development can only be anchored on solid education. This is why my first preoccupation in office had been to check up on the state of our schools. It was a sorry tale. The basic education had simply collapsed. 

We got down to work immediately. Two years down the road, my team and I are proud to report that the situation has changed. We have restored our relationship with key partners after years of blacklist. We have reshaped public perception about teaching by engaging the best minds into the system. Work is ongoing in some 600 basic schools to give our children a befitting learning environment. 

 

Our goal is to make public schools the first choice for all in terms of the quality and relevance of our infrastructure and teaching staff in the digital age. As a show of our commitment to education, we have recently surpassed the UNESCO budgetary threshold of 26%. Even so, it is clear that the government cannot do this alone.

Huge gaps still exist. For instance, our recent school census across four local gobernment areas show that 41% of our teachers are absent at their duty post. No single teacher was seen in 54 of the 368 schools sampled, while 23% of students on head teachers’ record were not in school during the census. Only 15% of the schools sampled were rated as needing no repair, implying that 85% of our classrooms require various forms of rehabilitation. The picture is bleaker when you consider availability or adoption of technology in our schools. The gender parity index for ratio of girls to boys in our school is another source of worry.

So, we need everyone on board. We do not have all the answers. And we certainly do not have enough resources that will provide the right environment for every Kwara child to thrive in the new world, irrespective of their social standing. 

At this Kwara Education Futures Summit, we will analyse the current state of education in Kwara and develop actionable plan to build a new generation who can hold their own anywhere in the world.

Already, we are building a legal framework to support our efforts. We now have a bill for a law to establish Kwara State Education Trust Fund. When passed, this fund will supplement the sector’s finance, promote technologies, and leapfrog the sector’s development through our Kwara Education Transformation Agenda (KWETA) plan.

As I round up, I recognise the hard work of our team who ensured the success of this summit. I also thank the speakers, panellists, and everyone else who is contributing to Kwara Education Futures Summit. I am confident in the future of education in our State because the best brains and hands are working on it. The prospects are limitless, and I look forward to this future.

 

Thank you.