In its strive to reduce some financing burden on parents and guardians of children in schools, and also strengthen the education standards, the Abia state government is mulling the adoption of some of the resolutions that the Education stakeholders took during their recent meeting.
One of the resolutions is to restrict Graduation Ceremonies in schools to only Primary 6 Pupils and Senior Secondary Three ( SS3 ). Students
Another decision being mulled include, that Publishers should separate Textbooks from Workbooks, to make way for younger ones to re-use the same Textbooks used by their elders which, would by so doing save parents and guardians the cost of buying new Textbooks for their new school entrants.
The state Information Commissioner, Prince Okey Kanu, who announced this cost-saving mulling after the Monday state executive council meeting, added that the State Government has continued to make appreciable progress in the renovation of Schools, Training of Newly Recruited Teachers, assessment of dilapidated Schools among others.
” These Interventions underscore the Governor Alex Otti administration’s commitment to creating and sustaining a conducive learning Environment that would position the State as a leading Center of Academic excellence across the Country”.
He recalled that the Ministry of Education recently conducted what was tagged a Facility Tour of 63 Public Schools reportedly renovated/retrofitted, or undergoing renovation/retrofitting across the three Senatorial Districts of the State.
Touring of these 63 schools located across the state within two days, has been criticized in some quarters, especially as it was reported to have effected in two days.
A past state Commissioner had openly called for the evidence of these schools renovations , the locations, Videos / photographs of the said renovated/ retrofitted schools, or being renovated/retrofitted
However, Commissioner Kanu advised the contenders/critics of the tour to visit the Schools locations, video and or take pictures of them, so that based on what they see on ground, they should commend the government, rather than make wild allegations.
Commissioner Kanu also announced that going by the recent assessments conducted by the Ministry of Education, 340 Public Schools across the State are for immediate renovation, 20 selected from each of the 17 state LGAs.
In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Elder Goodluck Ubochi however said that the Education Stakeholders’ resolutions during their Meeting would be adopted only after due Legal processes, adding that already , the state Ministry of Justice has commenced the process, before the resolutions are adopted as a Working Document for the State.
On the posting of the over 5,000 newly employed teachers, Commissioner Ubochi indicated that the final and updated posting of the Newly Recruited Teachers would formally be published on Tuesday
He beckoned on Parents to access the Basic Education Certificates of their Children at the cost of N2,000.00 each for the Primary 6 and N4,000.00 for the Basic education and N4,000 for Secondary School.
