Lagos State Government on Thursday disclosed not less than N23.6bn was expended on construction and upgraded infrastructure in the education sector in the last three years, noting that efforts are geared towards giving comprehensive teaching in the schools.
The projects covered not less than a total number of 1,036 schools in the State.
The government also hinted that N1.1bn was spent on the fees of students who partook in the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) in 2021, adding the same amount of money would also be paid for the students this year.
These were some of the revelation during EQUAL Education Summit which was done in collaboration with the State ministry of education and Office of Sustainable Development Goals and Investment in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The Summit which was themed EQUAL was an acronym for Equity, Quality, Ubiquity, Access and Learning as a way of demonstrating the goals attached to the education in the State.
In her address the State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo stated that “In the last three years we have spent N23.6bn on our upgraded infrastructure in education sector.
She added that out of the money spent, 1,449 unique projects which represented 51 percent were carried which included 96,334 dual unit furniture. The projects covered 1,036 schools.
As part of measures to run education with technology, the Commissioner also disclosed that the State Government had procured additional 18,000 devices for the students.
Adefisayo said, “The State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu started transforming existing schools so that they are conductive for learning. In 10 years, people will pass by the schools and be proud of them.”
She highlighted some of the schools to include Veteran School, Agege, Elemoro School in Ibeju-Lekki, Ogonbo School which was built with toilets for the physically challenged pupils
While commenting on the policy of government on zero tolerance for out of school children, the Commissioner said, “The Governor has challenged us to move to more 50 schools where pupils do not only learn photography or tailoring but they learn financial literacy, social media marketing among others.”
In her welcome address, Permanent Secretary, Office of SDGI, Abosede George said the Summit, “presents a veritable platform to showcase the strides of the state’s Ministry of Education in improving the education system and opening up opportunities for public private partnership interventions and mutually beneficial investments across the education value chain in Lagos State.”
She added, “One of the primary essence of governance in a democratic society is to create an environment where common value of literacy are instilled. Ambitions for this effort are essentially captured in the SDGs 4 which aims to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’.
“The roadmap to achieving the targets of this ubiquitous agenda requires deliberate discussions and debates. There are new knowledge horizons and opportunities for strengthened solidarity and partnerships to meet the interdependent challenges of sustainable education and deliver genuine impact in the society.”
