House Of Reps Commends Kwara State On Education Standard

The Kwara State Government has been commended for efficient use of basic education grants  to improve standard of education and quality delivery.

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Basic Education and Services  commendation came barely one month after UBEC said Kwara now stands out for excellent utilisation of the grants.

The feat according to the House is a clear departure from its horrible experience with Kwara State in the past when the grants were diverted, resulting in official blacklist of the state for at least seven years (2013-2019). 

The committee Chairman Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, applauded Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for quality service delivery seen in the management of the Universal Basic Education Commission matching grants, saying the state deserves commendation for the quality of the schools and other facilities funded from the money so far accessed.

“What we have seen so far in Kwara is of high quality and satisfactory.

"There is evidence of focus and commitment, and a clear interest in promoting basic education and empowering our children to survive in an increasingly complex technology driven global system.

"I think the best way to appreciate what is going on is to have the proper understanding of how it used to be, and we've seen a lot in Kwara.

"It is not always that we find a leadership that understands basic education and its value to national growth and development.

"If the basics - the foundation - is contaminated and corrupted, what it produces can never promote peace, stability, growth and development anywhere in the world, that is why basic education is very critical.

"Without education you cannot go anywhere. It is not rocket science. And I think Kwara State seems determined to change the narratives. We are pleased about it", he said.

He said no efforts will be spared to sanction the states found to have diverted the UBEC grants, including taking steps to retrieve some abandoned facilities the Commission allocated to some defaulting state governments.

"There are penalties for states where UBEC allocated critical infrastructure to some state governments but were abandoned.

"We are amending the UBEC Act so that UBEC can retrieve such facilities and put them to public use.

"Secondly, we are looking at ways to compel compliance with the law of the land; a situation whereby states that have not accessed the marching grant or have accessed it but used it wrongly will face some penalties."

He also hinted that state governments that comply with UBEC's action plans will be rewarded with more support to serve as an encouragement to do more.

"At the level of the committee, the National Assembly and the UBEC, states that utilised UBEC grants perfectly like Kwara will get additional support as a reward, so that it will encourage them to do more.

"I would like to advise state governments to take basic education seriously in their own interest.

"Bulletproof cars, dogs and barbed wire cannot save them from the anger of uneducated, abused and marginalised children in the consequences.”

He commended the management of the State Universal Basic Education Board and their Chairman, Prof Sheu Raheem Adaramaja for proper monitoring and their insistence on delivery of quality jobs by contractors.