Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, has disclosed that a total of 3,000 primary and secondary school teachers were recently employed in a bid to boost the capacity of the existing workforce and provide quality education.
Adefisayo, represented by Head, Public Affairs, Ministry of Education, Kayode Abayomi, disclosed this at the annual ministerial briefing of the Ministry at Alausa, Ikeja, on Tuesday.
The Commissioner, while presenting the activities and achievements of the Ministry, also pointed out that education remained a critical success factor for the socio-economic development of an emerging economy that encouraged responsible citizenship, development of human capacity and the crucial support for a transition into a knowledge-based economy.
Adefisayo revealed that Lagos State government’s plans for education are being executed along key strategic areas under the Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu (BOS) Education Transformation Plan 2020, with initiatives and intervention projects, adding that education was the third pillar of the THEMES agenda of the present administration.
According to her, various workshops and training were also organised for teachers drawn from the various education districts, including the Special Needs Education Division, as improving capacity and welfare of schools’ personnel remains paramount to the present dispensation.
She noted that the Ministry had embarked on the construction and upgrading of public schools’ infrastructure across the state with the completion of six blocks of 92 classrooms in primary schools and three blocks of 54 classrooms in secondary schools at different parts of the state, aimed at easing classroom congestion while ensuring capacity development and welfare of students.
In her words: “In addition, the state government under the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB) intervention projects also commenced the delivery of 10,164 furniture and 60,000 chair/table units to public schools statewide.”
She added that Governor Sanwo-Olu had approved the establishment of well-equipped standard science laboratories in 11 state senior secondary schools and five government technical colleges, including the repair and rehabilitation of 60 selected schools.
She further hinted that in the last one year of the present administration, the Ministry of Education had instituted better school governance, administration and also improved the quality of primary education with the pilot launch of the EKOEXCEL (Excellence in Child Education) programme.
She said it was an initiative of the Lagos State Government aimed at transforming teaching and learning in all state primary schools with the training of 4,400 teachers and social officers in January, which is “already operational in 300 public primary schools in the State.
“The State government also provided two new buses, laptops, photocopying machines to Basic Education Quality Assurance Officers for monitoring of Primary schools.
“We have improved capacity and welfare of students, our students have continued to emerge tops at several competitions nationally and internationally clinching medals and trophies for the State. Competition like the JETS Competition, World Robot Olympiad held at EDUTUS University Gyor, Hungary and the Chinese Bridge Proficiency Competition to mention a few,” she stressed.
The Honourable Commissioner stated that with Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry has ensured that the Students remain engaged by organising electronic learning and teaching platforms through Radio, Television and the Internet. “Besides, a total of 135,445 pupils are being fed one meal per day in 976 schools across the State through the Home Grown School Feeding programme which is presently on-going.
Adefisayo further stated that the administration has invested so much in technology as a learning aid while setting up a support Team of Technology Professionals to support Lagos teachers, adding that, the Ministry has reviewed the Nigerian Curriculum and integrated it with the 21st Century skills while the Year 2020 major Book Review is ongoing.
This article appeared originally on Vanguard, June 2, 2020.
