The Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, says his administration has spent about N46 billion to fund the state-owned tertiary institutions in the last seven years.
He stated this on Monday while inaugurating the ultramodern Oba Akinbiyi Model School at Mokola, Ibadan, the state capital.
According to him, the School Governing Board (SGB), a novel participatory model of school management system introduced by his administration in 2016, which accommodates the stakeholders in the day-to-day running of public secondary schools, had so far attracted funding to the tune of N15bn.
Ajimobi’s comments come shortly after swearing-in 11 newly-appointed permanent secretaries.
He thereafter inaugurated the newly-constructed Ijokodo-Apete Road, now named Ambassador Olu Saanu Road, as well as Challenge-Efunsetan Road named after former Governor Lam Adeshina.
Ajimobi explained that his administration’s scientific approach to his mandate informed the organization of two education summits in 2012 and 2016, which identified major gaps in the education sector.
He noted that a significant part of the gap was infrastructural decay in the school system, consequent upon which the state embarked on the provision of world-class facilities in public schools with a vision to deliver quality education across the state.
“As an administration, we have presided over the most focused, prudent and responsible management of available resources for the maximum benefit of our people for eight years.
“Underpinning every step we have taken is our desire for quality in whatever we do. Aside from the three model schools, renovation of several blocks of classrooms in over 100 secondary schools across the state was recently carried out to create a conducive learning environment,” he stated.
The governor said his administration’s desire to make tertiary education more available informed the upgrade of Oyo State College of Education, Lanlate to an autonomous college, and the College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora from a monotechnic to a polytechnic.
“We have spent close to N46billion on the funding of state-owned tertiary institutions in the last seven years. If you divide it by seven, it means we have spent close to N7bn every year on education.
“Contrary to some uninformed opinions, this administration has succeeded in repositioning all tertiary institutions owned by the state, setting them on the path of financial prudence for sustainable management and development,” he stated.
On the gains of the SGB policy, the governor said that over N8bn had been committed to the management of public secondary schools by the stakeholders, aside the 7billion which government had also spent on renovation of schools.
He said that the financial, manpower, logistics and intellectual contributions made by the stakeholders, including alumni associations, parent-teachers’ association and community leaders, among others was a reflection of the popularity of the policy.
The governor also said that his administration had made a huge impact on education, health, agriculture, urban renewal and other areas.
