The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Mass Literacy and Non-Formal Education, Prof. Simon Ibor Akpama, also called on the state governors to support the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to boost mass literacy.
Prof. Akpama made this call on Friday during the launch of LEES for the Southwest held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
He said LEES is an initiative designed to further add value to the vocational education programmes of NMEC when people are not only trained in how to read and write but are also trained in different skills such as tailoring, hairdressing, catering among others, and are supported with the working tools after their training.
Akpama said one good way for the state government to vigorously pursue the vision of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty as encapsulated by the present administration is to subscribe to this LEES project because of its dual role of helping to increase mass literacy while reducing poverty.
He said, “We have several programmes targeted at reducing illiteracy in the country; among these are basic literacy, post-literacy as well as vocational education programmes which are meant to equip youths and adults with entrepreneurial skills.
“The whole idea behind this LEES project is that while you are trained on how to read and write, you are also armed with vocational skills that can serve as a veritable source of livelihood and you are supported with starter packs to take off and begin to make meaningful contributions to the development of our dear nation.
“The focus of this achievement-driven government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under his Agenda for Renewed Hope is to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty. This is part of what we are aligning with through the resources provided by the Federal Ministry of Education.
“After these people have been trained in different skills under our vocational education programmes, we felt that if they are just trained without being equipped we might as well be aggravating further the challenge of unemployment and poverty in the country.
“So in alignment with the vision of the present administration of President Bola Tinubu, we have provided these beneficiaries with equipment for tailoring like sewing machines, we have also provided them with dryers as well as necessary equipment for catering and home economics. This is the first phase ending in Ogun State for the Southwest region.
“We have been to other other five regions too. What we however wish to achieve with this is to see the state governments replicating this initiative in their states. It is on this note that we are urging the state governors to support initiatives like this because it is in tandem with the vision of President Tinubu to reduce illiteracy and lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty”.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Education, Prof Abayomi Arigbabu, described the initiative as very noble as it will help in achieving the Federal Government’s recent declaration to eliminate illiteracy and its accompanying malaise among more than 90 million adult population and about 13 million out of school children.
Prof. Arigbabu said that the present administration in the state has also done a lot in the area of skills acquisition and empowerment for the people through gestures such as ”Okowo Dapo” a social security programme under which over 50,000 women have benefited.
He added that thousands of residents of the state are also acquiring vocational and literacy skills under the Ogun State Skills Fund Project where vocations such as hairdressing, fashion designing, catering and hospitality, masonry, cosmetology, bead making among others, are taught. He said that the state government would leave no stone unturned to eradicate illiteracy and poverty in the state.
Mrs Nnenna Jane Ejieji, Acting Director and Head of the Department of Vocational Skills and Continuing Education has, however, urged the 18 beneficiaries of the first phase of the project in the Southwest to make judicious use of the empowerment tools to be good examples to those coming behind while also helping to achieve the objectives of the programme.
Other speakers at the event included Mrs. O. O, Director, Ogun State Agency for Mass Education; Mrs Funke Lawal, Southwest Coordinator of LEES; Dr Femi Majekodunmi, Chairman, Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board as well as Dr (Mrs) Folake Olatunji-David, Director of Basic Education, Federal Ministry of Education, represented by Mr Anuna Olufemi, among others.
