Education is one of the five cardinal points in the thematic areas of the New Direction Blueprint. Dr. Sunday Tolorunleke, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology in this interview with Mary Amodu and Eunice Emmanuel-Bagi enumerates the achievements and developments made by the Ministry in last 16 months.
Background
I am Tolorunleke Jacob Sunday, the Kogi State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology. I hail from Ayegbede, Ijumu Local Government Area.
I had my elementary studies at Abdulazeez Attah Memorial College in Okene, where I graduated in June 1973. We were the first set that started the phrase “Almighty June”. After which I proceeded to Titicombe College Egbe for my secondary education.
In 1977, I got admission to study Geography Education at the University of Maiduguri and graduated in June, 1980. I further proceeded to obtain a Masters Degree in Educational Administration and Planning. In 1981, I started my career as an Education Officer. Then in 1998, I transferred to Federal Civil Service where I worked at the Presidency. In 2014, I retired as the Director in the presidency after 35 years of meritorious service at the age 60.
In 2016, I got appointed as the Special Adviser on Education, Science and Technology by His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello. Eventually I was elevated to the position of Honorable Commissioner for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
What have been the achievements of the Ministry since assumption of office?
The Achievements of the Ministry are enormous. On assumption of office I started repositioning and developing intelligent/efficient management in the Ministry. I started training and re-training staff as a major key to reform the Ministry for quality output. This was due to the deplorable state, where policies were not in accordance with the ethics of the institution and officers were deplored to their appropriate departments like in the areas of quality policy assurance.
It could be recalled that when we assumed office there were strike action, some of which took place both at the Universal Basic to Tertiary Institutions. We had to sanitize the sector to improve and motivate staff to discharge their duties.
In the area of Education, the accreditation of WAEC and NECO centres for six schools has been established. Also 26 schools has been accredited for Basic Education Certificate Examination ( BECE) centre recognition.
Due to the input of the ministry in the establishment of a conducive learning environment for Students, Kogi State came second position in the Nigerian Mathematics and Science Olympiad which took place at Headquarters of the National Mathematics Centre( NMC) and also came second in National Examination Council (NECO).
The Kogi State Government has approved the sponsorship of a 12years old boy, Ogwu Chibiyo Emmanuel of St. Kizito’s College, Idah who would be representing the country in London at the 2017 International Olympiad in Biology at the University of Warwick, Coventry,London slated to hold on July 23rd – 30th 2017.
On Academics, on the 22nd July, 2017, the NNPC annual Secondary School Competition was held at the Crowther Memorial College Lokoja, Kogi State, with representative of 3 Students from each of the 21 LGAs in the state. Out of the 63 students that participated in the competition, Abdulmalik Zulkurne inAdobanyi from NIOMCO secondary School, Itakpe, emerged winner and will be representing the State in Abuja, FCT on September 29th 2017.
Infrastructure
A landmass of 12 hectares has been acquired for the construction of the technology incubation Centre, Lokoja.
We also embarked on the infrastructural reform in some of the institutions which is still ongoing to create a conducive environment for learning. We also came up with some palliative measures to put things in the right perspectives.
About 105 Secondary schools has been earmarked for renovation across the State and government consultants have taken statistics of the expenditure which is been processed to the Council.
The Kogi State Government recently awarded contracts for upgrading and remodeling of six(6) Unity Schools across the State. These Six Unity schools ,comprises of 2 schools from the three senatorial district in the State. There will be 500 ICT modern capacity hall with full Internet, adequate water supply, 24hrs electricity supply, drainage, roadworks in the schools, hostels for male and female, up to date laboratories, classrooms with fans, some with Air Conditioner, staff quarters, for a fairly conducive environment for learning and teaching.
These will be done in partnership with foreign investors, which is a major event for this year. The Unity Schools will adopt a modern standard where there will be a hundred percent concentration for learning and teaching.
The renovation of structures at Government Day Secondary School, Adankolo has also been approved by the state Government.
Science and Technology
In this administration, Education is part of the 5 thematic areas, alot has been done and more is still expected to be done in the academic sector. We have also introduced the E – learning at basic education which St Mary’s primary school was used as a pacesetter. After which all primary institutions will be fully introduced to the ICT learning from next session and network servers will be made available in the school vicinity to enable the pupils have knowledge of the electronic system.
25 schools participated for MIP at the State, Zonal and National Mathematics Olympiad Competition held at Crowther Memorial College, Lokoja on 15 June,2017. Students who performed excellently,were awarded certificates,medals for their outstanding performance.
Plans have also been put in place to procure text books in 3 core subjects which are Mathematics, English Language and Computer Science to enable them improve their skills. We also have plans to reposition staff welfare.
In the area of sports, Kogi State hosted the Nestlé Milo U16 Competition, were Kogi State came 2nd position. In the Basket Ball championship, Kogi State came third position.
On the issue of the tertiary institutions, the State Government has done the needful in offsetting all salary backlogs and attending to 90% of their demands such as payment of salary up to June, Payment of arrears of those on sabbatical and contract staff has been paid. A visitation Panel and governing Councils for all Tertiary Institutions In the State was also constituted. This in the history of the State is the first time any government will address the issue of the Academic Staffs Union of Universities to this point, yet ASUU has refused to call-off the strike. Due to the non compliance with the agreement, the Kogi State Government proscribed the activities of ASUU in the State with a view reposition of our noble University to its highest peak of academic excellence.
The State Government is collaborating with the Public Private Partnership (PPP) to build schools; can you give more insight to this?
Due to the paucity of funds available we have no option than to partner with the private sector to develop some areas in the institutions like the hostels and other infrastructures to make it pleasant for the students. You would agree with me that development is a collective effort, and to some extent government cannot actually provide everything. In PPP, is an agreement of negotiations between the government, student and the partners to build the said projects.
Recently, the Governor embarked on a supervisory visit to Tertiary Institutions in the state, what were your observations?
I must say this is the first of it’s kind a sitting governor would create time to visit and interact with stakeholders in our tertiary institutions to address the prevailing challenges in our institutions with the view to proffer lasting solutions. For instance, there are a lot of decadence in the structures of our tertiary institutions and if not for the intervention of TETFUND the situation would have been direr than it is now. The Governors one week on the spot assessment of these institutions is to have an in-depth understanding of the problems in our tertiary institutions. The Governor is committed to changing the perceived narrative in our tertiary institutions and building them into citadels of learning that has high repute and meet up to world best standards.
Is the Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) Program going to be for all students in the state?
The Federal Government has taken care of Primary 1-3 and the state Government is obligated to compliment its efforts by feeding the pupils in Primary 4-6. For efficiency of the program, Caterers will be recruited from across the local environments where the schools are situated. The services of Caterers within the schools will also be patronized while additional hands will be recruited,thereby creating more jobs in the State. Upon implementation, the Home Grown School Feeding Program will cater to the feeding needs of one child per meal.
What informed your decision to embark on the online registration for students bursary?
This was done for credibility and accountability of students bursary, situation where the money/funds gets to the original students, we don’t want it to be diverted. Our goal is to rid off any form of corruption. When students register online, we see to it that there is authenticity of each registration, to find out if the money gets to the students.
Can you run us through the process of how this will be actualised?
There will be an engagement of a driving force to develop a scholarship portal for the ministry. It will be test runned by the ministry, then forwarded to His Excellency ,Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, to showcase to him how it was achieved, with the aim of making sure that the students benefit from the bursary, so that they won’t be surcharged by anyone. After the registration of students, the portal will be opened.
What measures would be put in place to ensure that this is successful?
Immediately after the creation of the Portal, we will go on air, the media, creating awareness for students registration online. There will also be a manual registration for the clarification of what was registered online. There are parameters to be followed, the students bio- data, birth Certificate, Origin of Local Government certificate, so that we will be sure that the student is from Kogi State, the actual Local Government. It is also important to state that the student bursary will be sent directly from the Government House to the Students account, so the money gets to them. The Governor is determined to see that this will be actualised, all for the benefit of the Students.
What should we expect from you?
Education is the driving force behind every industrialization, one of the vision I have planned out,is to empower about 1.8million youths in Kogi State via skills acquisition to position the state ahead of it’s contemporaries. This will have great impact on other sectors and areas of technology etc
