Kogi State House of Assembly standing Committee on Education, Science and Technology has bemoaned the sorry state of educational institutions in the state, calling on stakeholders to rise up and salvage the sector.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Abdulkareem Sanni Kekere made the call on Wednesday during the 2017 budget defense of the state Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
The committee chairman maintained that “the education sector in Kogi State is in shambles,” and therefore called for total overhauling. On the budget defence, the chairman posited that the activity they were embarking upon would go a long way to address the critical areas in the sector, adding that the committee would do everything possible to allocate funds to those critical areas in line with the new direction policy of the present administration.
Kekere added that in accordance with the enabling constitutional provisions, oversight functions on the appropriated funds would be vigorously pursued, stressing that the present state Assembly was determined to give value to how public funds was being spent in the state.
In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Education, Hon. Sunday Tolorunleke said the ministry was ambitious and optimistic about the 2017 budget due to the determination of the present administration to allocate resources to better the lives of the citizens.
“With the vision of quality education for all and the mission to enhance accessible and affordable education services in all tiers, the 2017 proposal was developed based on the new direction blueprint,” he said.
According to him, a total revenue of N807,350,000 has been projected in education levies, examination fees, sales of pamphlet, fingerlings and sanitisers. He said this represented an increase of N550 million or 214 percent.
For recurrent expenditure, Hon. Tolorunleke pointed out that this captured the overhead and personnel costs. “It stands at seven hundred and ninety-seven million, four hundred and ninety-two thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven naira only (N797, 492, 567), which represents an increase of 27 percent or one hundred and seventy-three million, five hundred and ten thousand, one hundred and fifteen naira only (N173, 510,115),” he informed.
For capital expenditure, the commissioner revealed that the sum of N4,925,281,200 had been projected for 2017, which he said it represented an increase of 165 percent of the approved budget of N1,725,500,000.
Credits: Labaran Tijani | Nigerian Pilot
