In its effort to boost education in the state, the Ebonyi State government has unveiled a program to improve the standard of their education. Below is a speech by the commissioner of Education, Dr. Stephen Odo.
SPEECH BY THE COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION, STEPHEN ODO, Ph.D AT EBONYI STATE FLAG OFF/ LAUNCH OF BETTER EDUCATION SERVICE DELIVERY FOR ALL (BESDA) AT AKANU IBIAM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, ABAKALIKI ON 19TH AUGUST, 2019.
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I feel highly delighted and privileged to welcome you all to this all important education programme – the launch of Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) Programme for Result (P for R) in Ebonyi State.
We all remember that in 1996 when Ebonyi state was created, Ebonyi state was classified as educationally disadvantaged state. Today Ebonyi state has moved from educationally disadvantaged state to educationally competing state.
For instance in 2018, Ebonyi state came 10th in WAEC ranking of states in Nigeria in terms of performance. This can be attributed to the high premium placed on education by His Excellency, Engr. David Nweze Umahi, FNSE FNATE, the Executive Governor of Ebonyi state through free and compulsory education, massive infrastructure, reorientation, school feeding programme among other education incentives. http://www.bellsnews.com/sports/kada-city-fc-holds-open-screening-in-kaduna/
However, it appears that all efforts by His Excellency to bequeath qualitative education to all Ebonyi children have not received the desired response from parents, guardians, and care-givers who for one reason or the other still keep their children/wards at home or give them out as maids or house helps, or even allow them to hawk in the cities.
This scenario has led to unacceptable level of out of school children in the state especially when compared to other states in the South East. For instance, while South East recorded 11.3% out of school children in 2016/2017, Ebonyi State recorded 21.4% out of school children (MICS, 2016/2017). This figure is 90% higher than the zonal average.
The problem of Out-of-school children is both a national and a global concern. In Nigeria, about 10.5million children of school age are out of school (NPoPC, 2018/2019) about the highest in the world while UNICEF report of 2018 shows that one child out of every five out-of-school children globally is from Nigeria. This report is alarming.
Some of the most common reasons people give for this unfortunate development include lack of political will, financial constraints, ignorance on the part of parents/guardians, socio-cultural complexities, access to schools, physically challenged children, child labour, migration and orphanage. Fortunately for us in Ebonyi state, we have political will in excess supply. So all others barriers to children being in school will be completely taken care of. For the saying goes that where there is a will, there is a way.
Your Excellency, what we are witnessing today is your marshal plan, a multi-sectoral and holistic approach to tackling out-of-school children in Ebonyi state through the launch of Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA). BESDA is Ebonyi State-World Bank partnership programme aimed at increasing access for out-of-school children, improving literacy, and strengthening accountability for result. This programme which started in 20018 will end by 2022. This programme was based on 2015 Nigeria Education Data Survey (NEDS) report by National Population Commission where 17 states in Nigeria including Ebonyi were identified as states with high rate of out of school children.
Your Excellency, you decided that Ebonyi state has no business in the list of states with high rate of out of school children in Nigeria.
Today your Excellency is displaying uncommon commitment to building the most critical component of our infrastructure, the human infrastructure through Education for all. I can see your vision your Excellency.
By the launch of BESDA today, your vision is very clear. You want to reproduce yourself; you want Ebonyi state to produce world class engineers who will not only maintain the beautiful infrastructural edifices you are building across the state but those who will also find solutions to world engineering problems.
You want to produce top-notch medical doctors who will break world records in modern medicine and experts in space science. You want to produce youth who will not wait for government to employ them, but those who will be at the forefront in partnering with government in solving socio-economic problems through entrepreneurship. You want to produce academics that will be sought-after on the global arena.
You want to produce a new generation of Ebonyians who will be equal or even better players in the new world order – the knowledge economy; driven by science, technology and artificial intelligence (robotics).
With you on the driver’s seat, Your Excellency, Ebonyians are confident and our partners should be rest assured because you know our destination.
In this new vision and drive, what is required is unwavering commitment by all stakeholders- education managers, parents, children, community /village heads and all political leaders.
Starting from September 2019 every Ebonyi child of school age must be in school. Our target is to be in the top three in Nigeria and the first in South East in terms of best literate states in Nigeria. The education of Ebonyi child is the duty for all.
Once more, I welcome you all.
Thanks and God bless you.