With the training of over 8,000 teachers, provision of Information Communication Technology (ICT) teaching gadgets and the upsurge in enrolment of pupils in public schools, Governor Godwin Obaseki’s effort to revamp basic education is yielding fruits, reports PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU.
When Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki talked tough on revamping basic education at the twilight of 2017, not many took him seriously considering the facelift his predecessor Adams Oshiomhole had done in many public primary and secondary schools across the state.
Observers had thought the governor would continue in the rehabilitation of public schools, which have suffered years of disrepair and neglect such that parents sought solace in private schools.
In promising to continue the education revolution initiated by his boss, Obaseki howbeit, stated emphatically his core derivative in education restructuring was to tackle the anachronistic teaching method through a robust human capital development to bring teachers in the employ of the state in touch with new technologies, modern best practices that will assist in tutoring pupils who can match their peers from any part of the world.
To kick start the reform, Obaseki announced the constitution of a new Edo State Universal Education Board (Edo-BEST) headed by Dr. Joan Osa Oviawe, mandating them to look into retaining teachers, reviewing curricula in addition to the improving the aesthetics of public schools.
The revolution did not begin until April last year when an inaugural set of 2,000 teachers drawn from over 300 public primary schools across the state were trained on new teaching methods including the use of ICT tools; harmonisation of teaching and learning outcomes in primary schools as well as adoption of interactive classroom management model, among others.
However, not much attention was paid in the strides recorded in repositioning basic education until Dr. Oviawe announced recently that enrolment into public primary schools recorded an upshoot of 20,000 last year.
Giving account on the gains recorded since last April, Dr. Oviawe said 8700 teachers were trained and deployed to about 931 public primary schools to improve reading and numerical skills of pupils, with rehabilitation ongoing in 230 public schools including Ojirami Primary School in Ojirami in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area (LGA); Ugbogo Primary School in Igarra; Amegor Primary School in Uwelu, Egor LGA; Eweka and Olua Primary Schools in Egor LGA; Ivbiyeneva Primary School in Ikpoba Okha LGA; Aduwawa Primary School in Ikpoba Okha, Uhie Primary School, Egbokor, Idunmwingun, Iguere, Evboeghae and Oza Primary Schools in Orhionmwon LGA.
Another plus in the basic education reformation, Dr. Oviawe said, was the inclusion of members of school host community in administration and management of the schools known as the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC).
“The SBMC is made up of members of the host community and others appointed by the state government, who have been trained to monitor quality, protect infrastructure and ensure efficient management of the schools to assure quality.
“There is a total of 11,688 members of the SBMC in Edo State, who help the school management in administering the schools, providing needed community input to promote good governance,” she said.
Passing a vote of confidence on the SBMC regime, Obaseki last week said the government won’t invest in any school that did not have the committee in place.
He stated that the SBMC would ensure schools were better managed since they and the communities will take charge of maintenance of the facilities after construction.
“We are committed to ensuring that the schools in Edo State are in good shape. We wanted the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) to be in place so they can play a critical role in ensuring that the schools are well run and that whatever is provided for the schools are not vandalised,” said Obaseki at an interactive forum.
