Governor of Abia State Alex Otti has vowed that his administration would spare nothing to prepare children in the state for the emerging new age in keeping with his campaign promises.
Otti announced this yesterday at the launch and unveiling of the logo of the Abia Fostering Innovation Reform School Transformation (AbiaFIRST) initiative in Umuahia, the state capital.
He explained that the AbiaFIRST is a central plan for a transformational governance initiative for the rapid socioeconomic development of the state.
According to him, the government had re-taken the initiative to lead the charge in qualitative education of the young people through multi-level learning institutions.
He said the government would never play second fiddle to the sector, as it would lead from the front in terms of investments in infrastructure, recruitment of the best to teach and educate the children, and personnel remuneration.
“Investing in education as we have learnt from the development strides of other nations is no longer optional but a consistently general outlay and has become a prerequisite for the achievement of the aspirations of any society,” he added.
In an address, the commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Goodluck Ubochi said the AbiaFIRST is not just about improving individual schools but a complete institutional reform that would transform the sector.
The team lead of the Education Reform and Innovation Team, Abolaji Osimen, said the team, which consists of 180 professionals specializing in various areas of the sector had been engaging with the government since 2023.
In their goodwill messages, the UNESCO representative, Adeyemi Oladeji; World Bank senior education specialist, Tunde Adekola; and a representative of the British Council Office in Abuja, Daniel Fwanshishak, congratulated the state on its efforts to revitalize the sector.
