From Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin

Kwara Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has approved the promotion arrears for thousand of teachers and staff of the State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB), effectively ending four years of career stagnation that brought workers’ morale to an all-time low.

Public basic school teachers in Kwara State were last promoted in 2017.

SUBEB chairman for the state, Prof. Shehu Adaramaja, made the declaration  at the commissioning of operational vehicles, motorcycles, electronic gadgets, and instructional materials for basic schools.

It was an annoucement that  triggered widespread applause from teachers and other workers of SUBEB who hailed the decision as timely and fitting for the administration’s record of hearkening to the  yearnings of the people.

Said Adaramaja: “Conduct of years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 promotion examination and oral interview has been expressly approved by His Excellency to hold between the 2nd and 5th August, 2021. Outstanding salary arrears of staff is also not left out as the process is at its peak. We say a big thank you to His Excellency for considering the plight of our staff and finding a solution to the agitation of our staff.”

AbdulRazaq, who was represented by his deputy, Kayode Alabi, said the administration has unlocked the goldmine of opportunities to revitalise basic education in the state with the renewed relationship with Universal Basic Education Commission, after seven years of official blacklist of the state.

“Except for the 12-seater bus which has been donated to us by Unity Bank Plc all these facilities are some of the gains of our renewed relationship with the Universal Basic Education Commission.”

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AbdulRazaq also acknowledged the prudent management of scarce resources by the leadership of KWSUBEB, leading to procurement of 1,500 cartoons of white chalks from Kwara State College of Education ( Technical), Lafiagi.

“The interesting thing is that these facilities are what Kwara should have been enjoying if the last administration had played its own roles. It is a confirmation of our position that the last administration opted to kill basic education in the state. Our efforts have been to restore quality, dignity, and citizens’ confidence to public basic education in the state.

“These tools will not only improve the standard of basic education in the state, they will also provide an enabling environment for adequate monitoring and supervision of teaching and learning activities across our schools. These new infrastructures will complement the ongoing renovation and remodelling of classrooms across over 600 schools in the state.

“When you add that to the recent recruitment of 4,701 teachers through a process that was the best of its kind in the recent history of Kwara State, you will see that our vision is comprehensive and clear. On August 5, we will bring stakeholders together to a summit to evolve a holistic strategy for the future of our education sector.”

AbdulRazaq applauded Unity Bank for the donation of 12-seater Hyundai bus and UBEC management for their support to Kwara SUBEB in providing the materials/equipments needed in the schools.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs Adeoshun Kemi applauded the governor for his giant strides in the education sector.

“You cannot appreciate the magnitude of the contributions of this administration without being reminded of the pathetic situation of the education sector before the advent of the Otoge mantra. The previous administrations left educational system to a near collapse. The infrastructures were dilapidated and abandoned, there were acute shortages of facilities in the schools, irregularity in the remuneration of teachers and lack of adequate office equipment to monitor schools’ activities,” she said.