FG to establish more schools across Nigeria — Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan
| credits: dailypost.com.ng

President Goodluck Jonathan has said the Federal Government is planning to establish more schools across the country to cater for the needs of children who are not able to benefit from the ongoing education reforms.

The President, who was represented by his Vice, Namadi Sambo, stated this in Uyo on Saturday during the national flag-off of the distribution of instructional materials procured during the 2012 UBE Intervention Fund to Public Basic Education in Nigeria. He said the FG was determined to give every child the opportunity to attend school.

He said the exercise, which will begin in Uyo in April, will ensure that the 7.5 per cent of children in Akwa Ibom State, who are not attending school, get basic education.

He said, "It is my pleasure to inform you that the President has already approved this exercise in the South-South and within the next six weeks, it will be launched in Akwa Ibom State.”

He stated that the supply of textbooks and other instructional materials have received more attention in the country’s basic education sub-sector.

"Beyond this ceremony, our efforts at national transformation will achieve the desired results only if it is predicated at provisions of quality education at all levels and for the development of abundant human resources in the country.

"In this regard, we at the federal level have since redoubled our efforts in policy making and implementation of tangible innovation in education that serves as catalysts for other sectors of economy through appropriate and sustainable development in structure, institutional arrangement and governance as well as funding and resource mobilisation,” he said.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, said the transformation agenda of Jonathan provides strategic direction towards achieving the key goals of the government and the nation as a whole.

 "It is for this reason that the Federal Ministry of Education, in total commitment to the actualisation of the transformation agenda, has developed the 4-year strategic plan for the development of the education sector. This is tailored towards serving as the education component of the transformation agenda and ensuring its actualisation,” he said.