By Our Correspondent in Ilorin
The Anchor, Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP), Mr Mohammed Brimah, says the state government has set aside N135 million, under KWASSIP, as interest-free loan for 1,119 private school owners across the state.
Brimah, who disclosed this in a statement in Ilorin on Tuesday, said the move was to cushion the effects of school closure arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“KWASSIP has engaged with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) in Kwara State after they reached out for assistance to cushion the effects of school closure arising from the COVID-19 pandemic,”he said.
He explained that the 1,119 private schools had been grouped into two with each category receiving between N200,000 and N100,000, depending on the staff strength.
“Under the arrangement, category A schools — which totals 236 and have 20 staff and above — will each receive N200,000 to support their workers.
“Category B schools, with 19 or less staff and totalling 883 schools, are to receive N100,000 each under the arrangement that is purely voluntary,”he added.
The Reporters recalls that the Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq,had during a recent virtual meeting held with the umbrella body of private schools in the state pledged to offer interest-free loan to the owners of private schools in the state.
He said it would serve as salary support for their workers to prevent massive loss of job and check poverty surge in the education sub-sector.
AbdulRazaq said he would not be blind to the plight of any Kwaran, including proprietors and workers across private schools in the state who he acknowledged had been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the closure of schools and some other businesses for months.
The private school owners had during the virtual meeting commended the administration for the food palliatives given to them through the COVID-19 committee in their response to the gesture.
On Friday, AbdulRazaq officially launched the disbursement of the Owo Isowo, a component of the state social investment programmes to assist 21,623 petty traders across the state.
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