AKWA IBOM GOVT. SPENDS N9.4B TO UPGRADE EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES 

About N 9.4 billion has so far been committed into upgrading of educational facilities by the present administration in Akwa Ibom State.

Akwa Ibom Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio who disclosed today at Le Meridien Hotel and Golf resort, Uyo, venue of the maiden Annual Science/English Teachers’ Excellence Award in Akwa Ibom public schools organised by Inoyo Toro Foundation lamented that his administration met deplorable state of educational facilities.

Chief Akpabio said as a result of the sorry state of schools, his government took statistics of the facilities in a bid to revamping them to enhance conducive teaching and learning processes in the schools.

He attributed the situation to inadequate financial resources accruable to government coupled with many competing demands of the society, adding that “Sometimes, it is difficult to match available financial resources with the problems at hand”.

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“We had to adopt the method of scale of preference in allocating the resources to various areas of need to ensure no area suffers in the process”, the governor stated.

The State Chief Executive was happy with Inoyo Toro Foundation for instituting the excellence awards for secondary teachers in the state to enhance high academic competitiveness among the teachers and standard among the students.

“As a government, we are happy to identify ourselves with the foundation. My administration would support you to foster academic excellence among the teachers who in turn will impart the knowledge to their students”, he assured.

Governor Akpabio while congratulating the teachers who have won various prizes in different subjects challenged other teachers to emulate the winners in order to win next year.

Chief Akpabio urged the teachers to always encourage their students in different callings to boost their morale in aspiring for higher positions in the society.

Mr. Chidoka Osita, Corp Marshall of Federal Road Safety expressed disaffection at the Government’s interest in education, maintaining that the failure in English Language since 1987 has been demoralizing with the 33 per cent failure rate in English rising to 75 per cent at the 2008 JAMB results released recently.

He appreciated the infrastructural development of the present government of Akwa Ibom  State and urged the government to match the same with education expenditure to raise professional in several areas to man both public and private sectors.

Prof Ebong W. Mbipom, Chairman, Award Committee, stated that the dream of foundation was to improve the standard of education in Akwa Ibom State , using teachers as the focal point to complement government’s efforts of infrastructural supports, finding, training, amongst others..

The public school teachers were tested on five subjects: English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Biology; and each have three winners, the first receiving N 250,000.00, the second and third, N 150,000.00 and N100, 000.00 respectively.