Ekiti Fences 260 Schools to End Abduction of Pupils
Prof. Femi Akinwumi
• Supplies 43,609 furniture for teachers, pupils
Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
The Ekiti State Government at the weekend disclosed that it provided perimeter fences in 260 primary schools across the state to prevent abduction of pupils and students by bandits and Fulani herdsmen.
The state government, also, supplied 43,609 furniture sets for pupils and teachers across primary schools as parts of the effort to create enabling learning environment in the public schools.
The Chairman of the Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Prof. Femi Akinwumi disclosed this during the registration of pupils into public schools in the state for the 2021/2022 session in Ado Ekiti Friday.
There had been reported cases of abduction of pupils in the northern part of the country, particularly in Katsina, Niger, Zamfara and Kaduna States in the Northcentral and Northwest parts of the federation.
Contingent upon the trend, the Ekiti State Government initiated its own safe school initiative to secure over 909 primary schools in the wake of attacks and killings by killer Fulani herdsmen in different parts of the state.
Speaking on the initiative, Akinwunmi said the state government had provided perimeter fences in 260 primary schools in the state as part of measures to ensure security in schools and checkmate incidences of school abduction
Akinwumi, also, noted that the government “has supplied 43,609 furniture for pupils and teachers across primary schools in the state. It took decisions to improve standards of education at the primary cadre and make the pupils academically solid to compete anywhere in the country.”
He attributed the tremendous improvement in the quality of education in public schools in the last two years “to the relentless effort of the administration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi at providing conducive and child-friendly learning environment at the pre-primary, primary and JSS levels.”
The chairman, also revealed that the Fayemi administration had paid over N7.6 billion as counterpart funding to UBEC in the last two and half years.
He added that the development paved way for the ongoing massive rehabilitation of school infrastructure and construction of additional school buildings in the state under the UBEC /SUBEB Intervention Projects.
He explained that the effort of the state government “is already yielding positive results as public schools in the state now have the required facilities and manpower to sustain a high quality education.
“The excellent result of pupils of public primary schools in the state in the just concluded placement examinations and the obvious increase in school enrolment were as a result of efforts of government in terms of improved infrastructure and capacity of teachers.
“Government has constructed 209 blocks of new classrooms, 553 blocks of renovated classrooms as well as the procurement of 11,102 units of pupils desks and benches, 21,536 units of pupils’ plastic chairs furniture and 10,971 units of teachers’ furniture totalling 43,609 furniture together.
“We have, also, constructed perimeter fencing in 260 schools, initiated construction of 288 VIP toilets, procurement of 648 units of Merry-go-round and 954 swings for early childhood education. The perimeter fencing is to ensure that our pupils are safe on campus,” Akinwunmi said.
The chairman, therefore, called on parents and guardians of children of school age in the state “to take advantage of free compulsory education of government to register their children and wards in public schools.
“The state government owned schools in the state could now compete favourably with the best private schools on terms of infrastructure and manpower,” SUBEB’s chairman explained.
