Kwara Govt Commended For Running FG-UBEC Model School Effectively

Kwara state Government has once again, earned national applause for running the FG/UBEC-sponsored Model Smart School effectively and making it technology- driven within the short period of its establishment in the state.

A statement made available  to Team@orientactualmags.com by Aminat Biola Atere noted that Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Dr. Hamid Boboyyi who said this during an  inspection visit to the facility in Ilorin on Friday, said he was impressed at what he saw, especially how technology is being fully deployed in the state to impart knowledge to school pupils.

UBEC officials , who were on a 2-day working visit to the state had on their arrival on Friday,  inspected the Model Smart School , Adeta and other UBEC – funded schools in the state, and later visited the Deputy Governor, Mr.  Kayode Alabi, who received them on behalf of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. 

Also joining Alabi to receive the UBEC officials were the Chairman, Kwara state Universal Basic Education Board, Prof Sheu Raheem Adaramaja and the representative of the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education and Chairman ,Teaching Service Commission, Bello Tahoeed Abubakar, and other principal officers of the Board.

‘So far, I am very much impressed. I have seen how they have deployed technology in the school in terms of the smart box, tablets and other digital items. I must congratulate the Kwara state government, SUBEB and the teachers, who are class managers, for their wonderful job’  Boboyyi told reporters in Ilorin after inspecting the model school.

Kwara and Kano are the first two states to benefit from the pilot scheme of the UBEC’s Smart School, with each of the states expected to prioritize the use of ICT for teaching of pupils in basic classes.

He lauded the state government’s commitment to educational growth including the proper handling of the Model Smart School, and thanked Prof Adaramaja-led SUBEB for his ‘rare support’ which had gotten  many things done.

‘We have come to see what is going on in the school. If you remember, the school commenced a pilot system in the state, where it admitted the pupils for some selected classes. 

So, we have come to find out and seek to address the challenges it may be having since its inception, especially the reported delay in supplying and installing some basic facilities, so that everything can be put in place before the school fully takes off come September, 2023’ he added.

Boboyyi said he was confident about choosing  Kwara for the pilot system and its capacity to ensure better delivery , acknowledging the government’s huge investments in basic schools and the kind of pedigree the state has in the education sector in the  North central.

‘I appreciate the government of Kwara state and the SUBEB in the sense that I have been to Kano and I saw what is in place they are trying in terms of enthusiasm and the learning system and other facilities. But, Kwara impresses me more in terms of the control of classrooms, the dynamics that take place and application of technology among others. I knew Kwara to be a paragon, and I am very serious about this’ Boboyyi added.

He said the idea of establishing the IT-based smart school was to give an average Nigerian child improved access to digital learning in line with the international best practices, calling on all state governments to replicate the model school standard in their own education system.

Speaking on the delay in supplying and installing other facilities at the school like solar and CCTV equipment, the Executive Secretary promised to summon the affected contractors to do the needful or risk their contracts being revoked. 

Deputy Governor, Kayode Alabi, in his remarks, said the government will continue to support UBEC in its efforts to build a solid foundation for school children in the state, who, he noted, deserve a better future.

‘The foundation really matters, and with Smart Model School, it makes our children become very smarter. If the foundation is good, the sky is just the beginning for the children’ Alabi said, while receiving the team at the Government House, Ilorin.

‘We appreciate your coming and we assure you of our support, and to continue to work with you because we know you are building the future of our children. We need to give them proper education and good exposure’ he added.

Chairman, Kwara SUBEB, Prof Sheu Raheem Adaramaja commended the UBEC for the initiative and for the visit, calling this a product of mutual trust between AbdulRazaq administration and the regulatory body. 

He said the establishment of Model Smart School in the state has further deepened public confidence in the workings of government -owned schools and increased the patronage, asking the Executive Secretary to look into some of the challenges facing the school-Team@orientactualmags.com
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