From Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, yesterday, opened the state Education Futures Summit in Ilorin, saying the event was organised to “analyse the current state of education in Kwara State and develop actionable plan to build a new generation of leaders who can hold their own anywhere in the world.”
The governor said his administration had recorded tremendous improvements in basic education from a near collapse in 2019 with investments in infrastructure, recruitment of quality teachers and reinvigoration of the monitoring system in the schools.
“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 percent.”
He, however, called for assistance from other stakeholders, saying “government cannot do this alone.”
Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Mariam Uwais, called for collaborative efforts among traditional rulers, civil society organisations, governments and religious scholars in addressing the issue of out-of-school children through facilities in agriculture, sports, and creativity sectors.
World Bank Senior Education Specialist, Tunde Adekola, who spoke at the event commended the government for the initiative and its commitment of more than 25 percent UNESCO budgetary funding to education.