As the quarterly meeting of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) hosted by the Lagos State Government came to a close today, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has tasked members of the commission to play useful role in drafting sound policies that would guide State Commissioners of Education in improving the standard of education across the country.
The Governor gave the advice today when members of the Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC paid a courtesy visit to the Governor at the Secretariat, Alausa as part of the closing ceremonies for the 18th quarterly meeting of the commission.
Ambode, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule noted that the task of achieving quality education at Primary and Junior Secondary schools in the country lies on useful advice and quality policy guidelines from the Commission to the state governments through their respective State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB).
The Governor stated that since primary and junior secondary is the foundation upon which higher education excellence rests, it is important for the commission to prioritize useful educational policies that can promote the growth of quality education and bring the standard of education in the country at par with other leading countries of the world.
In his words, “since State governments depend largely on your advice and quality policy direction for the implementation of our programmes especially in primary and Junior schools, it is essential that your commission should from time to time review our policies and give useful advice and quality policy guidelines that can help us to implement sustainable educational programmes that will fast track the growth of standard and quality education that will make our education rank among the best in the world.”
Describing the theme of the 18th quarterly meeting of the commission: “Model Colleges: Promoting Quality and Excellence in the Basic Education Sub-Sector in Nigeria” as appropriate, Ambode stated that his administration has commenced construction of new model colleges that will stand the test of time in terms of infrastructure and modern learning equipment in the three Senatorial Districts of the State.
He added that the State government committed huge resources to education in the 2017 budget so as to enhance successful implementation of high profile educational policies that will help the State realize its dream of delivering affordable, functional and quality education to residents.
While commending the Chairman and members of the commission for choosing Lagos State as the venue of its 18th quarterly meeting, he urged them to make the communique of the meeting available to State governments, as some of their recommendations would be useful in the implementation of new policies that will further enhance better performance in the education sector.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Executive Secretary, UBEC, Dr Hamid Boboyi stated that the commission paid the visit in recognition of the landmark achievements made by the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration in critical sectors such as education, economy and health in the last two years, noting that the urban renewal and infrastructure development projects embarked upon by the State government have transformed the State beyond expectation.
He stated that the commission was impressed with what it saw during a tour of some of the educational facilities and schools in the State, adding that it is very important for UBEC to cooperate and partner with Lagos State government on some of its educational policies so as to use it as template to design programmes that will promote education standard in other places.
