The enrolment of pupils in public schools in Kwara state has increased by 43% in 2022, according to the data released by the education authorities in the state.
The rapid increase has been attributed to the major investments in basic education by the state government and the reform policies in the last three years, especially the KwaraLEARN programme under Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq’s leadership
KwaraLEARN which currently operates in four local governments in its Phase 1 , has revved up the enrolment of pupils in public schools.
The local governments include Ilorin West, Ilorin East, Baruten and Offa.
Education authorities in the state in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com on Thursday by Bolanle Olukoju, who is a Communication Director at KwaraLearn, noted that parents and guardians in the state now have confidence in public schools, as they have been withdrawing their children from private schools and getting them enrolled in public schools .
Governor AbdulRazaq had at the start of his administration in 2019 paid the outstanding debt of the diverted UBEC funds and the years-long backlogs running into billions of naira, qualifying the state to get educational grants from the federal agency.
Under the Governor, more than 600 public schools have been renovated and given facelift out of the over 2,000 estimated to be in decrepit conditions across the state.
The Governor has also prioritized the payment of teachers’ salary and their welfare packages, unlike in the past where they were owed several years of salary. This move has ensured motivation and made the job attractive.
KwaraLEARN is an initiative of Governor AbdulRazaq to make the state’s public schools compete favourably with others and meet global standards.
KwaraLEARN has improved the quality of teaching instructions with the use of technology and automated solutions in government-owned schools.
Under the programme, teachers have been given gadgets to aid their teaching. The KwaraLEARN initiative has contributed to the enrolment of pupils in Kwara public schools.
The government is also building digital literacy centres across different schools in the state, while also investing heavily in revitalizing the laboratory system by equipping school labs with quality equipment.
Governor AbdulRazaq had also directed a teachers’ recruitment process that was thorough and devoid of partisan sentiments.
This has thrown up best hands to impart the pupils in public schools, as they were also trained and retrained.
The investments of Governor AbdulRazaq is yielding fruits as parents have started developing confidence in the public school system which they had long run away from.
Various stakeholders, including the executive and legislative arms of the federal government, had at different times lauded Governor AbdulRazaq’s investments in public education, which they described as a breakaway from the past which had left the sector in ruins- Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980. Thank you
