Business
Stakeholders in education storm Umuahia as state launches Abia-First school initiative
Stakeholders and development partners in the education sector stormed the International Conference centre , Umuahia, Wednesday, to attend the official launch of the state’s new education policy, “Abia Fostering Innovation Reform School Transformation initiative.”
The initiative is geared towards providing intentional qualitative education in a competitive global knowledge- economy.
Those who attended the event included students, teachers, parents, titans of industry, government functionaries, serving and retired state and national legislators, representatives from UNESCO, UNICEF, British High Commission, Abuja, World Bank, Federal Ministry of Education as well as Local Government Mayors, traditional rulers and the cream of society.
Code-named “AbiaFIRST”, the initiative is focused on strategic programmes aimed at transforming the education sector in the dtate through sustained investments in the development of school infrastructure, training and re-training of teachers on new trends, and recruitment of quality teachers to cater for the rise in enrollment figures in public schools.
Speaking before unveiling the Logo at the event, Governor Alex Otti explained that AbiaFIRST is a central plan for a transformational governance initiative for the rapid socioeconomic development of the state.
Governor Otti vowed to lead the charge in qualitative education delivery, saying that the government would no longer be playing second fiddle with the education sector.
His words: “Abia State Government has re-taken the initiative to lead the charge in qualitative education of our young people through our multi-level learning institutions.
“Never again will the Government play second fiddle with the education sector as we shall lead from the front, in terms of investments in infrastructure, recruitment of the best to teach and educate our children and personnel remuneration.
Dr. Alex Otti, Abia State governor
“Abia Government shall spare nothing to prepare the Abia child for the emerging New Age.
“Investing in education as we have learnt from the development strides of other nations is no longer optional but a consistently general outlay and has become a prerequisite for the achievement of the aspirations of any society”.
Governor Otti, who commended the efforts of the State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education in achieving his vision in the education sector, said that education is at the centre of his development agenda. He emphasized that the State development framework is founded on the transformative power of education and assured that he would spare nothing at promoting education in the State.
Earlier in his address, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Elder Goodluck Ubochi said that the AbiaFIRST initiative is not just about improving individual schools but a complete institutional reform that would transform education in Abia State .
He disclosed that the key to the transformation of education is the innovative solutions the Government is introducing, which include digital learning platforms, wholesome curriculum framework, teachers professional development, technical and vocational education, monitoring and evaluation system and Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) and called on all stakeholders to cooperate with the Government in that regard.
In her remarks, the Team Lead of the Education Reform and Innovation Team (ERIT), Mrs. Abolaji Osimen, noted that the ERIT team, which consists of 180 professionals specializing in areas such as Educational Technology, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), has been engaging with the present Administration since 2023.
She said that their goal is to foster digital proficiency among young learners and to collaboratively address the challenges facing Nigeria’s educational sector and appreciated Governor Otti for his commitment in educational development.
“That’s why we are grateful to our Governor for doing what he is doing. Based on recent statistics, we have 40 million students in schools in Nigeria, 80% of them are in public schools.
“We are here to Partner with Abia, we must have to act. So, our transformation strategy which we will be showing you is on 5 key pillars; learning outcomes, future – ready workforce, learning environment transformation, teacher excellent and strategic investments.
“We must either address our learning crisis now or risk creating the future with an under- skilled population. Our choice today will determine whether Nigeria emerges as a dynamic economy with a highly skilled workforce or faces the challenge of wide spread unemployment, increase crime, and economic stagnation,” Osime stressed.
In their goodwill messages, development partners, including UNESCO representative, Mr. Adeyemi Oladeji, World Bank Senior Education Specialist, Dr. Tunde Adekola, and a representative of the British Council Office in Abuja, Mr. Daniel Fwanshishak, congratulated the Governor on his efforts to revitalize the education sector.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to supporting and partnering with the State Government through capacity-building initiatives to enhance educational development. They commended Governor Alex Otti’s educational initiatives.
