By Correspondent in Lokoja
The Kogi State Government on Monday, said it recorded about 75 to 80 per cent success of the recent data capturing exercise of all private schools in the state.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Wemi Jones, disclosed this while addressing journslists in his office on Monday in Lokoja.
Jones said the data capturing of all private schools was carried out by the Ministry as part of its plans to revamping education sector in Kogi State.
He stressed that there was need to have accurate figure of the number of all private schools operating in the state for the purpose of effective planning.
He reiterated that Government has to know the status of such schools whether they were even fit to have their children in them for learning.
According to him, schools spring up everyday in the state and not all of them come to the ministry for registration.
”So we need to be sure of the number of schools, their status and fitness for learning; conduciveness of the schools, facilities, students, teachers and their qualifications.
”All these are things we wanted to put together, not forgetting the fact that we are already working on a Ten-year Education plan for Kogi State, such as the State Education Sector Plan and the State Education Strategic Operations Plan.
”So, these are key ingredients into the global plan that we are working on for Education in Kogi State”, he said.
The Commissioner added that the turnout for the exercise was massive because there was no local government that did not have almost 70 to 80 per cent compliance.
He added: ”I will say that that the turnout was quite encouraging. We are like 75 to 80 comfortable with what we achieved during the period that the exercise lasted.”
He, however, said that the ministry would give a grace period of two to three days which would be announced for schools that were yet to register, to come forth and do the needful.
”At the end of the two to three days grace period, any school that fails to report to the ministry to be captured, the appropriate law of the relevant sections of Education Law Kogi State 2020 will be fully applied on such schools, which may even go to the extend of closure of such schools.
”The ministry has got the power to close down schools that failed to comply with certain provisions of that law,” he added.
Speaking on the recent call from some quarters for him to contest for Kabba/Ijumu House of Representative in 2023, Jones thanked the people for coming up with the idea, saying, ”I don’t know them neither have I met with them before.
”But I like to thank them for even thinking that I have one thing or the other that they have seen that made me good enough to contest.
”However, I will have to let them know that the mandate that His Excellency, Gov. Yahaya Bello, has given me in education is so massive, and any political exercise now would be a distraction.
”So, I will like to stay focused and take education at least somewhere very close to where the governor want it to be if I cannot achieve 100 per cent target.
”On the second part, we are all praying that His Excellency will take up the mantle of leadership in Nigeria. Now, if my principal is projecting for the President of Nigeria, I think, that is the very major course that should take my time and my attention now.
”Ofcourse, I contested for House of Representative in 2019 and I have quite a number of experiences which are still there.
”But I think what is so paramount to me now is education that the governor has given me to manage and revamp for the benefits of the entire state”, he said.
He reiterated that the Governor’s Presidential ambition and the task of revamping the Kogi education sector, remained the two paramount things he was concentrating on for now.
”For now, I will appeal to those that want me to run for House of Representative to join me in prayer to be able to take Kogi education to the next level, and to also ensure that His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, becomes the President of Nigeria come 2023,” he said.
He stressed that the governor had performed excellently in the area of security, youth and women empowerment, education, health and other sectors.
The Commissioner emphasized that before you could ever think of progress, development and prosperity in any nation, security comes first; ”if there is no peace of mind what business can you even do?
”Security is the most precious item that we need in Nigeria today. So, if somebody has been able to do it in a state, I believed he also have the capacity to replicate what he has done in Kogi State across Nigeria.
”The fact that he has been able to put people of Kogi State together in unity which is microcosm of Nigeria, then, he has gotten the capacity to bring the Igbos, yorubas, housas and other tribes together and unite Nigeria.
”What we need most in Nigeria now is security and unity; people have said that the country has never been most divided than it is presently because of agitations from various groups and regions.
”Kogi State used to be divided, but now we are together. So, if the governor has been able to put Kogi State together, we believed very strongly that he will bring Nigeria together.
”We believe that with the Governor’s mindset and mentality on security, unity and equity, he is the ideal person for Nigeria come 2023”Jones added.
