The Universal Basic Education Board (FCT-UBEB), has said that the implementation of the sum of N30.9billion as special intervention fund recently approved by the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike for simultaneous massive rehabilitation of schools in Abuja, would greatly help strengthen provision of basic education in the nation’s capital.
The secretary, FCT-UBEB, Dr. Hassan Sule, who spoke during a media chat in Abuja, said that such intervention was timely, following the overstretching of existing infrastructure for basic learning in the FCT, due to steady explosive enrollment of pupils and students, occasioned by prevailing insecurity and economic hardships that resulted to influx of people into the city.
Sule, who is also the acting chairman of the Board, said that the fund if properly utilised would assist in tackling overpopulation fallouts in FCT schools as well as mitigate out of school syndrome in the territory.
He added that schools within communities in Kwali, Abaji, Gwagwalada and Kuje area councils are having high explosion of enrollment on account of what FCT-UBEB has been doing, prevailing insecurity and economic hardships, thereby tremendously overstretching most of the facilities on ground.
“As the enrollment is increasing, most of our schools need simultaneous attention to ensure continued access to proper basic education for children in the FCT.
“However, we thank God that the minister, whom God sent as our messiah of education is already intervening with approval of over N30 billion to address most of the challenging bedevilling most of these schools.
“This is not going to be easy as we are having almost a thousand schools: that is both special needs schools, ECCD Centres, primary, and junior secondary.
“And those that cannot be captured in this intervention, we are going to capture some of them in the 2023 UBEB intervention action on remediation of primary schools in Abaji, Gwagwalada, and other few nomadic schools that communities established on their own with the aid of the area councils’ authorities.
“And you know that the FCT minister is known to be a talk and do minister, because when he talks, he will certainly do it. And by God’s grace, since he has announced it, he will certainly bring it to reality. This will help breach the existing gaps in the education sector, thereby drastically reducing out of school children incidence,” he said.
The secretary also advised that all hands must be on the deck to ensure that there is improved access to quality basic education, which is free and compulsory in FCT, as it is everyone’s business, and the FCT Administration is doing its best to see that all children have proper basic education.
