Smart School project will change face of public education in Abia – Otti

…Inaugurates Ogbo Central Smart School in Umuahia

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has said that the smart school project promises to change the face of public education in the State.

Governor Otti stated this on Tuesday at the inauguration of the Ogbo Central Smart School, Ipupe, Ubakala, in Umuahia South Local Government Area of the State

He affirmed that the overarching agenda of his administration is to transform human capital into the central engine of economic growth and accelerated development, a reason his administration has consistently channelled 20% of its annual budgetary outlay to the education sector.

The Ogbo Central Smart School, Ubakala is the first of three such projects that would be Inaugurated this July across the three Senatorial Districts of the State after which another 17, one per local government, would be Inaugurated for the use of pupils and teachers over the next few months.

He said that the priority investments in education validate his conviction that the wealth of the future is not buried in the ground, but lies instead in the potential that everyone carries.

“Our focus has gone past the old mindset of going to school to pick a certificate and join the queue of job seekers thereafter, we are poised to launch a mass of educated and visionary leaders, who will go on to mine the untapped resources in our environment for widespread prosperity, as we see in other parts of the world.

“Quality education offered us the ladder to reach the summit of our professional dreams. Our agenda is to offer every child the opportunity to also chase their own dreams and become just anything they wish.”

Governor Otti emphasised that the recruitment and retraining of thousands of teachers, building of new school infrastructure and the policy of free and compulsory basic education are all aimed at preparing children for the extensive demands of the future.

“The world as we know it has been shrunk by the miracle of technology to a global village so the competition for jobs, innovation and impact are no longer local; as we have seen with recent international mathematics and science competitions, the space has been opened up to give any child the opportunity to show the world what they are made of.

“The only disadvantage any child can suffer today is the failure of those of us at the helm to make the right investments in the critical frontlines of education. I can, however, assure us here and now that every child in Abia, whatever their family background, will be offered the support they need to compete and find their place at the top,” Governor Otti promised.

He said that the Abia State school system had been re-engineered to build champions, but again, academic laurels are nothing without a firm foundation of character.

He observed that the job of guiding children to learn the principles of delayed gratification and independence is not for the teachers alone, saying that what a child becomes, is shaped by what happens in the home and encouraged every adult to appreciate their place, as role models to the children around them.

“As I had consistently noted, it is not only sophisticated public infrastructure that separate the third world from those higher up the development ladder; it is actually the public mindset — the consciousness that we all have a part to play in building the society of our dreams.”

He warned against any attempt to vandalise school infrastructure in any part of the State for whatever reason, noting that the administration is committing scarce public resources to these projects and will treat as a public enemy, anyone or group of people found to be remotely connected to even the smallest act of vandalism.

This is as he directed community leaders to prioritise the protection of school infrastructure in their domains, as the full weight of the law will be brought to bear on anyone, who attempts to sabotage the efforts of the government to build a better future for our children.

He warned that no form of extortion, whether of pupils or their parents, shall be allowed in any school, especially the smart schools, stressing that the schools have been built to encourage effective teaching and learning, not to open new fronts for illegal collection of levies, by greedy officials; anyone who runs foul of our zero-extortion policy will face tough disciplinary actions.

He thanked Maruf Alausa, the Minister of Education, for obliging to lead the commissioning of the project and expressed optimism that his presence at this event will open new frontiers of collaboration between the State and Abuja in the push for qualitative education, especially in the areas of capacity building for teachers, infrastructure investments and similar initiatives.