By Stephen Adeleye.
Kogi state government has restated her commitment to programmes that will improve the secondary school education in the state.
The State’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Wemi Jones, FCIB, gave the assurance while speaking at the “North Central Advocacy and Sensitization Forum and Stakeholders’ Meeting”, on the establishment of the National Senior Secondary School Education Commission (NSSEC) at Makurdi, Benue State.
Jones said that the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello was ready to support the ideas of NSSEC in developing secondary education in the state in its bid to lift the education sector to a higher pedestal.
According to Jones, to salvage the education system of the country, the secondary school system must not be neglected.
“As you are all aware, basic education, comprising primary and junior secondary education has Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) as its regulatory and intervention body, while the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and National Universities Commission (NUC) regulate colleges of education, polytechnics and universities respectively.
“In the same vein, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) serves as an intervention agency for higher institutions in Nigeria.
“From this analogy, only Senior Secondary Education has no functional regulatory and intervention agency,” he said.
He stressed that the secondary school education remained a critical stage where students decide their careers in life, insisting that it could not be neglected.
The commissioner maintained that it was time for the North Central to rise and take their rightful place in academic excellence.
He commended the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu and the Executive Secretary of NSSEC; describing the initiative as a step in the right direction.
“It is noteworthy that the NSSEC is seeking partnership with critical stakeholders, state governments and traditional institutions to reposition senior secondary schools in Nigeria,” he said.
The commissioner emphasised that NSSEC remained a brilliant move towards repositioning secondary Sshool education in Kogi State.
The commissioner was accompanied by the leadership of the State Technical Education and Teaching Service Commission (STETSCOM).