The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved the purchase of 16 million textbooks and library resources materials for distribution to all public primary schools and Junior Secondary Schools across the country.

The Minister of State for Education, Mr. Ezenwo Wike, stated this in Abuja while briefing State House Correspondents on the outcome of the weekly FEC meeting which was presided over by Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

He said the textbooks would be for core subjects in English Language, Mathematics, Basic Science and Technology and Social Studies for primaries three, four, five and six.

He said the library resources materials would be distributed to all Junior Secondary Schools across the country.

"You will agree with me that part of the transformation agenda of Mr. President is that education is core and in its resolve to improve the quality of education particularly at the basic level, Council today approved the procurement of core subjects in primary three, primary four, five and six for all public primary schools in this country and again for JSS for all the public schools.

"Now, the total number of books Council approved for purchase through UBEC is 16 million copies of textbooks in Mathematics, English language, Basic Science and Technology, Social Studies, while 1,010,100 library resource materials (were) being approved for JSS,” he said.

According to him, 5,746,489 of the textbooks in English Language, Mathematics, Basic Science and Technology would be for primary four, 5,151,450 for Primary Five, 2,568,700 for Primary Six and 3,222,210 social studies textbooks for Primary Three.

The minister stated that the distribution of the textbooks would not be based on equality of states, but rather it would be based on number of enrolment of pupils in the states.

He, however, maintained that the 1,010,100 library resources materials would be shared equally among the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.

Also addressing the correspondents, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said the Council approved the execution of three infrastructural development projects in the Niger Delta region.

He stated that the projects included the construction of Kira- Dere –Mogho road in Gokona Local Government Area of Rivers and land reclamation/shore protection at Ogbeinana town in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta.

Maku expressed Federal Government’s commitment to create the necessary atmosphere and the environment conducive to sustainable development of the Niger Delta.

Source: Punch