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Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has said his administration has renovated several schools, built additional classrooms and recruited teachers to improve education across the state.
Aiyedatiwa disclosed this during a media chat on Friday, where he discussed steps taken by his administration to strengthen basic, secondary, and technical education.
He said the state government has invested in renovating schools and expanding classroom capacity in order to reduce overcrowding in public schools.
“We have renovated a lot of our schools and built more classrooms so that the out-of-school children figure can reduce,” Aiyedatiwa said.
He added that the state has also partnered with the Federal Government of Nigeria to access funding for primary education through counterpart contributions.
“At the primary school level, the collaboration between the state government and the federal government, where the state government provides counterpart funding and the federal government also, we access funding for primary basic education that is being used to build schools, to renovate schools, and then to support primary school education,” he said.
According to the governor, the state has been among the leading states in accessing and utilising such funds.
“We have done that. We are, in fact, in those days, one of the best states in that category if you check the data, state by state,” he added.
Aiyedatiwa also said his administration has recruited teachers for public schools, noting that there had been a long gap in recruitment before he assumed office.
“Record has it that in the last 15 years before I came on board, the state has not recruited secondary school teachers. And I came on board, I recruited about 2,150 teachers to cover the gap,” he said.
He explained that the figure includes about 1,050 teachers for primary schools and 1,100 for secondary schools.
“About 1,050 for primary school, 1,100 for the secondary school,” the governor stated.
The governor further said his administration has renovated technical schools and introduced measures to boost vocational and skills training.
“Also, our technical schools have been renovated. Like never before, enrolment has increased in technical education that before now has been very, very poor,” he said.
According to him, the improvements were part of the government’s effort to prioritise skills development among young people.
“Because we’re trying to emphasise skill development, being trained in our skill acquisition. So our technical colleges are having a new life right now in terms of renovation, equipment and teaching staff, and enrolment has increased,” Aiyedatiwa said.
He also noted that the state government has increased subventions to tertiary institutions to help them meet salary obligations and operational costs.
“We have increased the subvention of our tertiary institutions so that they can pay their salaries and meet other overhead costs. We did when we came on board,” he said.
Aiyedatiwa added that the government has introduced biometric verification for workers in public institutions as part of efforts to block leakages and ensure prudent financial management.
“We have gone ahead also to remove all leakages and wastages by doing biometrics accreditation for staff and all of that, because we need to be prudent in managing our finances,” he said.
The governor also maintained that Ondo has maintained financial discipline in the management of its resources.
“Let me also say that we have been addressed as one of the best states in terms of fiscal prudency among all the states in Nigeria, financial discipline..” he added.
