‘85% of pupils in Lagos can now read, write’

Director, Lagos State Comprehensive Schools Programme in the Ministry Basic Education, Lucy Emike Omoaka, has lauded the Lagos State government for its investment in basic education and improvement of school programmes.

Omoaka said that the state made a significant achievement to increase the number of educated persons in the state. She claimed that 85 per cent of pupils in Lagos schools are literate.

She said this during a programme to mark the 2023 International Literacy Day and donation of a leadership library to Ayedeere Ajibola Senior High School in Ikosi-Ketu, Lagos.

The library was donated by DOTHEDREAM and Life Development Leadership Centre, which organised programme to mark the day. The principal of the school, Alade Olajode said: “My message is that others should emulate. The government is doing its best, but the government cannot do it all. If others can collaborate with the government, we will go far.”

Omo Aka said: “The Lagos State Government has made a lot of improvement; when the state discovered that some of our pupils were not able to read, the government decided that something must be done about it and went on to establish the Eko Excel programme where about 15,000 teachers were trained and given devices to teach the children. The children were also given books so, in our primary school today, we have about 85 per cent of our pupils able to read and write which is a great improvement from what it used to be before now.

“This achievement is helping us in our secondary school level because of a child can read and write in the primary school, it becomes easy for the child to be taught in the secondary school.

Reacting to the call by the Minister for Women Affair call to set Friday aside for children to learn practical aspect of education, she said: “Before now, the Lagos State Government has already started something on that; when the government discovered that a lot of our students dropped out of school, and we investigated and discovered that some of the children are interested in vocational skills, they wanted an education that is fit for all purpose and because of that, the Lagos State government introduced a programme where in our secondary schools, we have four departments instead of the Science, Arts and commercial we now have an additional department where the children who would have been roaming the streets of Lagos are now brought into the school system to learn a trade or any area they have passion.

When asked on how to build a foundation for suatainable and peaceful societies, Omoaka who represented the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Basic Education at the event, said: “if everyone can learn how to read and write, nobody will deceive them, it will make our society peaceful to live in.

Speaking also, Founder and CEO, Do The Dream Youth Development Initiative, Adebusuyi Olumadewa, said: “We used this opportunity to unveil the leadership librtary which we donated to the Lagos State Government under the Do The Dream initiative and Life Development Centre based in Chicago. This project is a collaboration to help young people to find their voice and create a platform for their voices to be amplified. This is a E-Library where young people can become assets worth emulation be studying leadership and management growth. We will continue to be more of this library across Africa, starting from Lagos

Calling for collaboration, he said: “Private sectors should collaborate with school to help young and old people, and that way, we can make education affordable for everyone. If we take 10 out of the number of persons who are illiterate in Nigeria, the number will reduce so, we need to start from somewhere and stop focusing on the number of illiterate but about the number we can impact.

“Challenges being experienced in education sector is not from the government but from young people. Interest is a living thing and it matters. If anyone want some but he or she is not going for it means he does not want it; not having interest in education is one of the challenges we are having. We can tackle this by showing people what they can do, what is possible and that it’s important to dream. We need to combine the formal and the informal education without condemning anyone.

The principal of the school, Alade Olajode said: “My message is that others should emulate. The government is doing its best but the government cannot do it all so, if others can collaborate with the government, we will go far. We must not leave everything to the government. The home should play its role and the school should do the same while the government played its part.

“This donation will encourage the students and boost them to prepare more for the future.