By Funmilayo Adeyemi
The Federal Government, through the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), says it has spent N1.48 billion to rehabilitate Government Science Secondary School, Koton-Karfe, in Kogi.
The project was facilitated by Sen. Sunday Karimi (APC-Kogi) as his constituency project.
The Executive Secretary of NSSEC, Dr Iyela Ajayi, stated this on Friday in Koton-Karfe, at the handover of one of the 50 selected senior secondary schools across the country.
Ajayi was represented by Mr Olugbenga Adelogun, the Director, Human Resources of the commission.
He said the initiative was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda of transforming education in the country.
Ajayi commended Karimi for facilitating the project, noting that the intervention demonstrated the role elected representatives could play in complementing government efforts.
He said the Federal Government remained committed to improving senior secondary education through interventions in infrastructure, teacher development, digital learning, science and technology, school safety and other areas.
According to him, the commission will continue to work with the Kogi Government, education authorities, development partners, communities and other stakeholders to strengthen senior secondary education.
“A school cannot provide quality education effectively if students and teachers do not have a safe, suitable, supportive, and learning environment.
“The project is therefore more than a physical structure or facility; it is an investment in our children, their education, and their future.
“At the NSSEC, our responsibility is to promote the development of senior secondary education and support efforts to ensure that our schools provide quality education to all learners,” he said.
Also speaking, Emmanuel Egamana, supervising consultant and Acting Head, Physical Planning and Development Department, NSSEC, said the three-blocks construction work was awarded to Messrs First Man Industry Link Ltd.with a completion period of 24 weeks.
Egamana said the administrative block comprised seven offices with capacity for 16 staff, including offices for the principal, vice-principals, senior master and records and archives.
He said the classroom block comprised six classrooms with seating capacity for 46 students each, alongside staff rooms and other facilities.
According to him, the laboratory and ICT building has four laboratories with capacity for 48 students each, four ICT laboratories of similar capacity, offices, stores and conveniences.
He said the structures were furnished and equipped with laboratory equipment, while the project also provided a three-unit inverter system, borehole, overhead water tank and solar street lights.
The facilitator of the project, Karimi, represented by Commodore Folusho Daniel (rtd.), said that the project demonstrated the importance of providing interventions in education.
Karimi commended President Tinubu for providing an enabling environment for education to thrive.
He said the project formed part of wider interventions across Kogi West in areas including water, electricity, solar infrastructure and education.
He urged the students to make effective use of the facilities as well as the community to protect and maintain them for future generations.
Also speaking, the Chairman, Kogi State Senior Secondary Education Board, Dr Habiba Suleiman, commended the Federal Government for executing the project in Kogi and appealed for more of such projects across the state.
The school’s Principal, Inusa Dauda, pledged the commitment of the school management to ensure effective utilisation of the facilities to improve teaching and learning.
Dauda, however, appealed to the federal and Kogi governments to provide perimeter fencing for the school to address insecurity and theft.
He said the school environment remained porous, adding that the only security guard currently deployed to the school could not adequately handle its security challenges.
“It becomes pertinent for the state stakeholders of this school to put hands on deck to provide the necessary machinery for the utilisation, maintenance, and safety of the properties,” he said.
He appealed for more security personnel and teachers to strengthen the school’s capacity to provide quality education. (NAN)
Edited by Joseph Edeh