Oyebanji said that his administration “in addition to payment of N6.2billion UBEC counterpart fund, has also deployed over N400 million to offset debts owed contractors handling projects at the State Universal Basic Education Board”.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Monisade Afuye, spoke while commissioning a block of four classrooms donated by Build a School Initiative in Africa and Ajoni Local Council Development Area at St Luke’s Primary School, Esun Ekiti.
The governor, who assured readiness to forge strong and invincible partnerships with intending private investors to strengthen education, hailed the partnership between the non-governmental organisation and Ajoni LCDA.
“This will bring radical development to the education sector through increased school enrolment.
“Under this administration, the war against Illiteracy and school dropout is total. That was why the administration, at its inception, declared free education at both primary and secondary schools. This singular, but lofty move, has helped in raising the school enrolment and made Ekiti have one of the highest school enrolment in the country,” he said.
Ajoni LCDA Chairman, Ogungbemi, said, “This is a new model introduced to elementary/ primary school buildings in Ekiti State. I would like to extend my appreciation to the BASIA team for the productive partnership it has established with us, to reduce minimally the out-of-school children in Ajoni LCDA and by extension, Ekiti State at large.”
The President of BASIA, Victor Ukorebi, said the school building gesture was to reduce out-of-school children in Nigeria, which UNESCO put at over 20 million, saying, such was disturbing and a threat to the future of the country.
Ukorebi said, “We have a lot of work to do to put our children back to school. We still need over 20,000 schools to accommodate out-of-school children in Nigeria. We must all make our impacts felt. The war against illiteracy must be total.”
