From Magnus Eze, Enugu
Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and Ebonyi State governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Elias Mbam, has released his education plan for the state.
Mbam’s press secretary, Obinna Udenwe, disclosed that the RMAFC boss has assembled a team of professionals from international agencies, civil society organisations, academia, and the media to develop a road map for the state.
The document, called The Ebonyi Dream, according to him, will, among many things, lead to a futuristic, functional and affordable education that will empower children and youth in the state to compete favourably in the present and emerging local and global workspace.
Udenwe stated that Mbam will actualise this plan by integrating various plans, visions, missions and developmental strategies of past and current leaders of the state to produce a policy master plan for the state: “Today, we are operating in a world without boundaries that is highly competitive and, for our children to survive in it, we must equip them with appropriate knowledge, values, skills and competencies required by the current world of work.”
The document said that Mbam intends to engage experienced and skilled professionals, review the total number of basic and secondary schools, and provide functional schools, particularly in areas of inadequacy.
The plan will ensure systems strengthening and organisational development of basic education using experienced educational consultants and professionals.
The plan will introduce a robust scheme that enables the best brains from Ebonyi (over a hundred annually), to access local and overseas education for masters and PhD programmes in major disciplines, such that in five years, the state will boast of seasoned academics to take over the various sectors of state’s development.
Also, it will ensure curriculum development and enhancement of learning outcomes using skilled and experienced professionals that will ensure the harmonisation of both public and private schools.
Additionally, the plan will commit a great percentage of state resources to teachers’ professional development and quality assurance through teachers’ training and improvement in conditions of service.
Udenwe further said that the plan will ensure steady and continuous engagement with key stakeholders, including the private sector, civil society organisations, international development agencies, and philanthropists in providing educational services in the state.