Enugu State government has reiterated its commitment to the upgrade of facilities in schools as well as providing qualitative education and conducive learning environment for students.
Commissioner for Education, Prof. Uche Eze, who stated this, yesterday, said Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, through the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), had constructed and renovated about 890 classroom blocks, with toilets, modern lockers and chairs provided for primary school pupils, while tables, arm chairs and armless chairs were given to teachers as well as ceiling fans and marker boards for teaching in 17 local government areas.
Prof. Eze stated this when he led the Chairman of ENSUBEB, Chief Ikeje Asogwa and his team to inspect facilities at Practicing School I,2,3 &4, Emene, Enugu, yesterday. He said Governor Ugwuanyi had special interest in the wellbeing of students and that in spite of inheriting a lot of infrastructural decay in the education system, the governor had committed enormous energy and resources in addressing the challenges to ensure that schools are transformed and are conducive for learning.
ENSUBEB, last year, procured and distributed 22,150 lockers and 22,150 chairs for primary school children, 1,228 tables, 1,228 arm chairs and 2,456 armless chairs for the teachers, as well as 1,130 marker boards for teaching and 1,960 ceiling fans, for conducive learning environment.
The commissioner said after the works and infrastructure ministry, Governor Ugwuanyi’s administration had spent more money in the education sector than other sectors.
Chairman of ENSUBEB, Chief Asogwa, said the state had constructed and renovated over 890 classroom blocks, in 17 LGAs, among other interventions worth over N9.8 billion.
“The state government has also employed 3,530 primary school teachers and distributed lots of school furniture about 45,000 durable plastic desks and chairs, among others, aimed at improving the learning process.
“We have transformed instructional materials that they use in the classroom. Now, instead of the old black board system, they have white boards in the classrooms. For the children to study in a better environment, we now have ceiling fans in the classrooms too.
“The decay we inherited was quite enormous. But today, the learning environment is being improved; the teaching system is also being improved. We have also conducted a lot of training and retraining of our teachers and that is still ongoing. Our intervention in the education system is a continuous process because there is no way we can address all the challenges the same time.
“So a lot is being done to ensure that we improve the education sector. The governor is seriously interested in improving the education sector.
The state has committed over N9.8 billion in the last four years just for primary education and an exco approval has also been received for additional N1.5 billion.This shows that the state government’s level of commitment to quality education of our children is high and commendable,” he said.