Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has reiterated the commitment of his administration to quality education and human capital development in Kwara State.
The governor said the huge investment in the sector continues despite dwindling revenues and competing priorities for governments worldwide. “Our expenses have really gone up. We are implementing KwaraLEARN. We’re paying UBEC counterpart funding, which the previous administration could not pay. We are investing heavily in education and human capital development because we prioritize the sector and the future of this state, ” AbdulRazaq said weekend in Ilorin at the induction of a new set of teachers trained for the KwaraLEARN program.
KwaraLEARN is a flagship education program of the AbdulRazaq administration, which involves the use of modern technology to train teachers, improve teaching techniques, and boost education outcomes for school children. It birthed in four local government areas (Baruten, Ilorin East, Ilorin West, and Offa) last year, with at least a 45% rise in school attendance by November 2022 and significant improvements in the literacy and numeracy skills of pupils.
The governor stated that the program costs a lot of money but is hugely necessary to secure the future of the Kwara child. “If you look at the figures, between 2015 and 2019 the income to the state – FAAC, IGR, and the likes were higher than what we have received between 2019 and today. By December last year, we earned N44bn less than the last administration. Yet, we are paying the N30,000 minimum wage and consequential adjustment which they could not pay,” he explained, pointing at the prudence of the administration and its commitment to people’s welfare. AbdulRazaq assured teachers of improved welfare packages with the planned introduction of a housing scheme and car loan support to address mobility and accommodation challenges. He urged the teachers to continue to support his administration to consolidate the achievements recorded so far.
“When I walked in here and I saw your faces, I saw excitement. I saw that you are happy with what you are doing. You appreciate what the state government is doing. Do we need to do more? Yes. We will do more. Your welfare is important to us. We would have gone beyond this level,” he said.
