Special Report By Erasmus Ikhide
Under Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration, College of Education, Abudu in Orhionmwon Local Government is growing in leaps and bounds. At the last count, more than twelve existing dilapidated buildings have been renovated and made ready for use by students and members of management staff. These include ninety five hostel rooms with ultra-modern toilet facilities with separate kitchens, built separately to accommodate both male and female students, four large lecture halls with additional twelve class rooms on both side each, administrative building along with ICT building, members of staff quarters and interlinking roads within the campus earmarked for construction. However, the PDP state’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chris Nehikhare perforates claims by the SUBEB Chairman, Dr. Joan Oviawe and Governor Obaseki’s government that educational re-engineering has taken firm foothold in the state. “The enthronement of the Obaseki government exposed the lack of depth of the APC government Education Policy in the state,” he said.
Sound Education reform formed a major part of his gubernatorial electioneering campaign promises in 2016. And since assuming office as Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has been battling to keep faith with the promise.
It was a promise, from a tall ambition to revolutionize education to meet the world’s standard of basic, secondary and tertiary education for his people.
Ironically, Obaseki’s implementation of his education reform is being attacked, with mounting criticism by the opposition and Civil Rights Groups who have consistently claimed that his style has literally destroyed education in the state rather than fix the rot in the system.
In a pushback, one of the governor’s education enhancer and Chairman of the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Joan Oviawe recently released a list of the governor’s endless achievements in the education sector.
They include: new registration of 20,000 pupils in public schools who were originally out of school and are of school age.
Dr. Oviawe chose the one year anniversary of the government’s special intervention program in primary education, tagged EdoBest (Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation) a few weeks ago as a platform to tout the achievements of the governor.
She told journalists that so far, 7,000 out of the 11,117 primary school teachers had been trained and provided with tablets on modern teaching techniques and through the process also get feedback on the performance or otherwise of the teachers in terms of regularity in teaching and punctuality in class.
Oviawe said another set of 615 teachers were currently undergoing training while she said nothing less than 800,000 free text books had been distributed to primary schools.
She also said the Board has introduced electronic record for pupils with their data and those of their parents and guardians captured to monitor movement of pupils from one school to another and keep their proper records including academic performances.
She further told journalists that 232 public schools were being rehabilitated across the state with 56 of this number undergoing complete reconstruction.
“All these are being done in line with the vision of Governor Godwin Obaseki who is determined to take the standard of education particularly primary education to a very high level so that any pupil leaving primary six will be well equipped to even teach. This is being done at no cost to the pupil because primary education is completely free.”
According to her, to check cases of vandalism of school facilities, a School Board Management Committees (SBMC) has been established to take ownership of the facilities and help protect them just as she said the recent re-introduction of subvention to the schools is to provide needed funding to maintain the facilities being produced by the government.
She said Open day which enables parents to visit schools and see how their children were being taught has also been introduced and would hold twice in a term.
Investigation has shown that in spite of the government’s genuine efforts at providing unfettered access to a compulsory Universal Basic Education (UBE) for all school age children in the state as a bridge to future socio-economic development, the milestone is yet to be realized in the short period of Governor Obaseki years in office.
Also, the promise to establish and maintain quality and standards through enhanced, relevant and competence-based curricula and effective quality control and monitoring at both public and private levels is still far between.
It has been revealed that strengthening Edo State’s technological and scientific foundation by rejigging technical, vocational and entrepreneurial education formats and objectives in the state government style may yet bring about actual development in the educational sector.
Added to that will be making optimal use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to meet the state’s manpower needs in commerce and industry and other core areas as being provided by the state government.
It’s universally agreed that education flourishes only when enabling environment is provided that stimulates active participation of the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
However, the state government has been applauded by the people for enhancing the resourcefulness, competencies and efficiency of teachers, instructors, most especially lecturers and members of staff at Edo State Polytechnic, Usen through capacity building, training and other motivational platforms.
The appointment of Prof. Abiodun Falodun of the university of Benin as the Rector of Edo State Polytechnic, Usen on April 2nd, 2018 has been the turning point for the visible restructuring and re-positioning of the institution, says Miss Magdalene Okhaide, HND 1 Public Administration student of the institution.
Miss Okafor Syvia and Master Moses Omofese, both students of the Polytechnic were elated for the reduction of the school fees cumulatively from N120,000 to N45,000 for social science students and N50,000 for science students respectively which has been responsible for lack of students in the institution in past.
Lecturers, management staffers and students alike attested to Governor Obaseki’s and the Rector’s tireless commitment to make Usen Polytechnic unbeatable across Sub-Sahara African countries.
“We’re happy that several months salary arrears and all the overdrafts loans taken by the former Rector unaccounted for have been paid by Prof. Abiodun Falodun”, the Dean of Students Affairs, Mr. Usman Osarenren said.
On tour of campus with students and members of staff, the achievements of the present Rector were replete and visible in every corner of the institution.
They include the establishment of a functional Healthcare center within the Polytechnic premises, establishment of Centre for Geospatial Information Science (CGIS), establishment of Edo Poly Table Water, establishment of a functional Palm Oil Milling Factory, establishment of the Polytechnic environment through the bring back our environment campaign, the ongoing Radio/TV studio project, the development of school mobile App by the students, numerous TETFUND projects under construction, and many more within the short period Prof. Falodun took the mantle of leadership of the institution.
It’s also to the credit of Prof. Falodun that first Convocation Ceremony was held on December 1, 2018 since the establishment of the Polytechnic on 19th December, 2002 by ex-Governor (Chief) Lucky Igbinedion administration.
Under Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration, College of Education, Abudu in Orhionmwon Local Government is growing in leaps and bounds. At the last count, more than twelve existing dilapidated buildings have been renovated and made ready for use by students and members of management staff.
These include ninety five hostel rooms with ultra-modern toilet facilities with separate kitchens, built separately to accommodate both male and female students, four large lecture halls with additional twelve class rooms on both side each, administrative building along with ICT building, members of staff quarters and interlinking roads within the campus earmarked for construction.
However, the PDP state’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chris Nehikhare perforates claims by the SUBEB Chairman, Dr. Joan Oviawe and Governor Obaseki’s government that educational re-engineering has taken firm foothold in the state.
“The enthronement of the Obaseki government exposed the lack of depth of the APC government Education Policy in the state. The primary and secondary schools are unfunded, no subventions from government, inadequate teachers, equipment, learning aides or teaching aides.
“There hasn’t been a proper student census to determine number of pupils in schools and therefore proper arrangements cannot be made to cater for them.
“The cosmetic renovations of “along the road” schools have “faded” and the school buildings are once again become eyesores! The Obaseki government has closed down functional schools for renovation and revamping only for him to shift position once he has achieved his sinister motive of closing down.
“As we speak, students of the Colleges of Education Ekiadolor, College of Agriculture Iguoriakhi etc. along with their academic and nonacademic staff are in limbo as no clear policy position of government on their fate. Only sound bites and empty promises. Obviously, the position of government is frowned at by all Edo as schools should be opening and not shutting down,” Chris said.
Human Rights Activist and social crusader, Marxist Kola Edokpaye loses brain cells on hearing that Governor Godwin Obaseki has achieved milestone in educational development in the state.
His words: “Governor Godwin Obaseki is a curse rather than a blessing to educational development in Edo State on the ground that virtually all the State owned tertiary institutions are shut down by the State Government, thereby exacerbating the development of the underdevelopment of the State owned tertiary institution.
“In neighboring states like Kogi, Delta, Ondo and other States, the Governors are paying bursaries to their students while Edo State Governor heart is hardened like Pharaoh Ramses towards the payment of bursaries to the indigent Edo students schooling in Edo State.
“APC-led government under Godwin Obaseki is leading in denial. The Civil Society Organizations in Edo have written to the State Governor and the Parliament to ascertain why the Schools are shut down and the need for the schools to be re-opened for academic activities but no responses from them. Some of our Comrades have had meeting with the Chief Of Staff on the matter but all to no avail.
“We’re set to expose and disgrace them in our planned protests in coming days. Our messages are very clear. Open Our Schools now.”
Boiling over, Comrade Kola Edokpaye said, “at this junction we can’t afford to allow lecturers, management members of staff as well as the students’ faiths to be dangling in the balance while jesters and blusters in government house ride the roughshod.”
Two Principals in Edo State (name withheld) of the same Secondary School — Senior and Junior in the same premises chastised the state government for misinforming the general public about its achievements in the educational sector.
“Since November last year we have not received one kobo from the state government for subvention. Besides, we only have one English and mathematics teacher each, teaching over 3,000 students in the entire school.
“The governor should employ science teachers since older ones have all retired. After all, Governor Obaseki promised 200, 000 jobs to Edo people in each of his four years in office,” one of the principal roared.
A visit to Colleges of Agriculture Iguoriakhi and Ekiadolor, now Tayo Akpata University invokes unrestraining anger over the closure of the once boisterous institutions without adequate explanations beyond renovations or restructuring blank twitches from the government, while existing structures are allowed to be vandalized, degraded and cannibalized.
Only last week the Pro Chancellor of Tayo Akpata University, Hon. Thomas Okosun resigned his appointment for what Marxist Kola called Governor Godwin Obaseki’s less than a “glancing touch” on education.
Edo State Commissioner for Education Hon. Emmanuel Agbale abdicated as he refused to answer calls or questions put to him bordering on the closure of the colleges.
Erasmus Ikhide writes from Lagos, Nigeria. Email: ikhideerasmus@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @ikhide_erasmus
