The Executive Chairman of Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Prof. Femi Akinwumi has commended the support of the State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji towards impoving the quality of basic education in the state.
Prof. Akinwumi gave the commendation in Ado Ekiti while declaring open a 3 – day training program for SUBEB Quality Assurance Department Evaluators and other staff of the department on “Developing Capacity of the State Master Trainers”.
He said that Governor Oyebanji had been consistent in the provision of an enabling environment to ensure quality teaching and learning including infrastructures and human resources to boost the standard of basic education in the state.
Prof. Akinwumi highlighted the governor’s efforts to include employment of more teaching and non-teaching staff to fill the existing vacancies, regular promotion of teachers and provision of incentives, procurement of instructional materials and payment of counterpart funds for execution of various UBEC/SUBEB intervention projects in public primary schools across the state.
The SUBEB boss who also stressed the need for effective school evaluation as a panacea for improving learning outcomes and strengthening the basic education sector, described the training as important and timely, stating that the program was organized at a tine when the schools were in urgent need of improvement and sustenance of quality service delivery in terms of teaching and management of schools.
He tasked the participants to maintain the set standards at achieving the required quality education and societal expectations, urging them to work in the interest of the state governor who is never tired of creating a conducive teaching – learning environment for basic education programmes to continue to thrive in the state.
“You must take the training serious and make yourselves worthy ambassadors of government at your various local government areas in order to achieve noticeable improvement in the quality of teaching and learning in the state’s basic education programme.
Governor Biodun Oyebanji is working so hard to sustain the development of the state at every sector, including basic education, you need to support him so that collectively, we move the state to greater heights” he said.
Prof. Akinwumi also lauded the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) over its continued support and collaboration for the success of various Programmes of the Board, particularly the provision of matching grants and also used the opportunity to solicit for continuous partnership.
He assured that the state government would not relent in payment of the counterpart funds and other logistics to the Commission to maintain the SUBEB/UBEC collaborations.
The UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi who was represented by a Quality Assurance official from the F.C.T, Mr. Vincent Egwosoro said the training was part of the Commission’s proactive steps to equip the officials of the department at the state levels for quality performance.
He added that UBEC is embarking on review of its policies and programmes to address the challenges facing the basic education sector across the country, especially paucity of funds, stressing that among the steps taken was the allocation of 2% funds from matching grants of states for Continuous Quality Assurance Departments in all the 36 states of the federation.
Earlier, the Acting Permanent Secretary of Ekiti SUBEB, Mr. Olufemi Dada had charged the participants to avail themselves the opportunity of the workshop to increase their efficiency in disseminating the required information and skills for impartation of qualitative basic education across their local government areas.
He urged them to utilize the acquired knowledge as master trainers to cascade the training at their respective LGEAs.
Present at the programme included the UBEC State Coordinator, Mr. Tokunbo Olajubu, the Board Management Staff among others.