Dear Executive Chairmen,
On behalf of the Ododo School to School Movement, I warmly congratulate you on your inauguration as Executive Chairmen of your respective Local Government Areas. Your emergence comes with enormous responsibilities and an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the development of Kogi State.
As you settle into office, we respectfully appeal to you to make education a top priority of your administration, particularly the development, monitoring, and effective management of public primary and secondary schools within your respective local government areas.
Education remains the foundation of sustainable development, social transformation, and economic prosperity. Therefore, investing in our schools is not merely a government responsibility; it is an investment in the future of our children, communities, and state.
- Strengthening Primary and Secondary Education
We urge all Executive Chairmen to give special attention to public primary and secondary schools within their respective local government areas. This should include regular monitoring of schools, improvement of learning environments, provision of essential educational materials, maintenance of school facilities, and effective supervision of teachers and students.
Our children deserve an educational environment that encourages learning, discipline, creativity, and excellence. No community can achieve meaningful development while its schools are neglected.
- Supporting the Education Task Force in Every Local Government
We call on the Executive Chairmen to provide the necessary institutional, logistical, and administrative support to the existing Education Task Forces operating in their various local government areas.
These task forces have an important role to play in addressing truancy, the growing number of school-age children found outside the classroom between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., absenteeism, indiscipline, and other social vices affecting our children and young people.
We must collectively discourage the practice of allowing children who should be in school to roam the streets during school hours. Such children are vulnerable to negative influences that may jeopardise their education and future.
We therefore encourage the Executive Chairmen to work closely with traditional rulers, religious leaders, parents, school administrators, security agencies, community leaders, and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen the activities of the Education Task Forces.
The fight against truancy and educational neglect requires collective responsibility, consistent monitoring, and genuine political commitment.
- Ododo School to School Movement: A Partner in Educational Transformation
The Ododo School to School Movement is a sister body to the Education Task Force, working towards the common goal of improving school attendance, promoting discipline, and ensuring that every child of school age has access to quality education.
Our leadership calls on all stakeholders, particularly the newly inaugurated Executive Chairmen, to embrace and support the objectives of the Education Task Force and the Ododo School to School initiative.
We believe that through collaboration, regular school visits, community engagement, effective monitoring, and timely interventions, we can achieve positive and sustainable results across the 21 local government areas of Kogi State.
We must move beyond political declarations and translate our commitment to education into practical actions that will benefit our children.
- Addressing the Rising Number of Out-of-School Children
We are deeply concerned about the increasing challenges of educational backwardness and out-of-school children in some communities across Kogi State.
We commend the intervention of the Kogi State AGILE Project, particularly its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) initiative aimed at supporting female students in primary and secondary schools.
This intervention demonstrates the importance of targeted support in addressing barriers to education and encouraging school attendance, especially among vulnerable children.
However, more interventions of this nature are needed to address the economic and social challenges that prevent children from enrolling in school, attending regularly, and completing their education.
We therefore appeal to the Executive Chairmen to collaborate with the state government, development partners, community organisations, and other relevant agencies to identify vulnerable children and support initiatives that will keep them in school.
Our collective objective should be clear: No child should be denied the opportunity to acquire an education because of poverty, neglect, or circumstances beyond their control.
- Empowering Local Government Education Secretaries
We also urge the Executive Chairmen to support and empower their respective Local Government Education Secretaries to discharge their responsibilities effectively.
Education Secretaries play a critical role in the administration, supervision, and coordination of basic education at the local government level. They should be provided with the necessary administrative backing, mobility, monitoring resources, and institutional cooperation required to carry out their duties.
We encourage regular meetings between the Executive Chairmen, Education Secretaries, school heads, and Education Task Forces to review school attendance, teacher performance, infrastructure needs, and other challenges affecting educational delivery.
A well-supported Education Secretary can contribute significantly to improved school management and better learning outcomes.
- A Call for Action and Accountability
Distinguished Executive Chairmen, the future of Kogi State depends significantly on the quality of education we provide for our children today.
We respectfully encourage each local government to develop practical strategies for improving school attendance, reducing truancy, identifying out-of-school children, strengthening school supervision, and improving the overall standard of education.
We further recommend periodic assessments of progress to ensure that the resources committed to education produce measurable results.
Your administrations have an opportunity to leave a lasting legacy by making education one of the strongest pillars of grassroots development.
Let us work together to ensure that our children are in classrooms learning, rather than on the streets during school hours. Let us strengthen the institutions responsible for education and provide the support necessary for teachers and school administrators to succeed.
A society that neglects the education of its children risks compromising its future. But a society that invests in education builds a foundation for peace, progress, and prosperity.
We trust that you will give this appeal the serious consideration it deserves and demonstrate your commitment to educational development through concrete actions.
May your respective administrations bring meaningful progress to our local government areas and contribute to the continued development of Kogi State.
Long live Kogi State!
Long live our Local Government Areas!
Long live the Ododo School to School Movement!
Yours faithfully,
Comrade Abduljelil Umar Adabara
Convener
Ododo School to School Movement
