Malcom X once stated that “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”.
It is a widespread belief that education is the most powerful weapon with which the world can be transformed.
Edo State under the leadership of Governor Godwin Obaseki has since keyed into this progressive thought in transforming the education sector in the state.
The Edo State Government has continued to prioritize the welfare of teachers in the state, ensuring that they are provided with the right skills and environment to impact pupils and students in public schools.
Edo people have imbibed a learning culture which is part of their historical disposition. They have a historical heritage which stems from their own civilisation, alongside their early contact with the Europeans, which drastically influenced the growth of their society.
This historical heritage has been leveraged by the Obaseki administration to transform the educational system in the state, in order to make the state an education hub whose histories can be passed on through solid and effective educational foundation.
Governor Obaseki found it pertinent to place the right skills in the right hands to effect the desired change.
Following the success of Edo BEST 1.0 initiated in 2018, the state government resolved to extend the program to cover junior secondary schools as well as 148 rural public primary schools in hard-to-reach and coastal communities, not previously captured in the Edo BEST 1.0, in order to give all public school pupils equal opportunities to acquiring quality education.
This necessitated the recruitment and training of young, vibrant, professional and aspiring teaching personnel into schools across the state so as to cover the manpower gap.
A new batch of about 3,000 teachers, consisting of progressive primary school teachers, junior secondary school (JSS) teachers and successful EdoSTAR fellowship candidates, were recently graduated after a six-week intensive coaching on digital pedagogy and capacity building in modern teaching techniques.
These teaching staff are expected to further deepen the transformational narrative in the state’s education sector.
The Governor has demonstrated his commitment to ensuring that Edo children get quality education no matter their location. Governor Obaseki has noted that teachers are invaluable public servants.
According to the Governor, “Teachers are the most valuable resource in the delivery of public service in basic education and it justifies our resolve to prioritize their recruitment, replacement and up-skilling’’.
The Governor regards the feat so far reached in his education transformational agenda as “a dream come true and a promise kept”, adding that the commendations from critical stakeholders in the sector would inspire his administration to do more for the children in the state as he remains committed to providing quality education for every Edo child.
By Nekpen Maureen Nwine
