Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Monday called for increased collaboration among world leaders and global stakeholders to strengthen and enhance education systems for the future.
Obaseki, during the commemoration of the fourth international day of education, marked by the United Nations (UN) and its sister agencies, said a more effective, equitable and resilient education system would help to tackle learning poverty and improve access to inclusive and quality education.
The governor, while speaking on this year’s theme, “changing course, transforming education”, in Benin City, reassured that his government would continue to deepen ongoing reforms in the state’s education sector, provide the right infrastructure, technology and manpower for improved access to quality education across the state.
“We plan to deepen ongoing reforms in the state’s education sector, build the capacity of our teachers to domesticate the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) model, maintain physical infrastructure across schools in the state as well as intensify rebuilding structures, processes, and equipment at our tertiary institutions, among others”, Obaseki said.
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“Today, as we mark the fourth international day of education, it is imperative to reiterate the need for a more resilient and equitable education system to tackle learning poverty, improve access to quality education and reduce the global out-of-school population.
“Like other sectors, education suffered a huge gap during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the closure of schools, universities, and other educational institutions, excluding about 268 million children from school.
“This, not only necessitates the urgent need to rethink education considering its role in achieving a safe and sustainable future, but is a call for improved collaboration among world leaders and global stakeholders to strengthen and enhance education systems for the future,” he said.
Obaseki, who stated that his administration is focusing on basic education and restoring quality into its basic educational system, noted that “children in primary schools in Edo State today now learn three times more than they used to learn with the old pedagogue.
“Edo today is ranked as one of the five nationals and sub-nationals in the world, leading the charge in tackling learning poverty. We have the lowest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria on account of our reforms.”
