Tunde Akanbi, Ilorin
The Kwara State government has reaffirmed its commitment to improve the standard of education through adequate funding of the sector.
The government also expressed its readiness to partner private sector and corporate organisations to advance the standard of education in the state.
The state Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Bilikisu Oniyangi, stated this in Ilorin during a press conference to herald the maiden Inter-Secondary School Mathematics and English Competition at the instance of Saliu Mustapha Foundation.
The competition themed “Investment in Education, the solution to all Problems” was being organized by Saliu Mustapha Foundation in collaboration with the Kwara state Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development.
Hajia Oniyangi said the ministry had designed policies and programmes aimed at rejuvenating the education sector and accord it the place of pride.
She explained that education was seen as a collective responsibility in advanced climes with private individuals and corporate organisations undertaking infrastructural needs in schools through endowment fund.
The commissioner, who said all hands must be on deck to address the needs in the education, urged stakeholders to support the government in its quest to reposition the sector.
“It must be placed on record that the present government is committed to improving the standard of education in the state through adequate funding and provision of necessary infrastructural facilities. The Ministry of Education under my leadership has set out policies and programmes towards this direction.
“In advanced countries, education is seen as a collective social responsibility where private individuals and corporate organisations contribute to the development of educational sector through endowment, building of facilities, scholarship or through this kind of inter schools competition.
“This lofty initiative is commendable and worthy of emulation by individuals and corporate organizations, because to have a vibrant education sector, all hands of stakeholders must be on deck. In another word, the state government is ready for partnership that will advance the education sector”, the commissioner said.
Speaking earlier, the representative of Saliu Mustapha Foundation, Mr Yakub Isowo, disclosed that the inter-school competition would commence simultaneously with preliminaries among 20 secondary schools in Kwara South, 20 in Kwara North and another 20 in Kwara Central on July 21st 2018.
Isowo informed that 10 schools with good performance at the preliminaries would be selected from each zone to participate in the grand finale while the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Best Schools would be awarded alongside their Mathematics Teachers at the grand finale holding August 4th, 2018 at Queen Elizabeth Secondary School in Ilorin.
