Bello tasks stakeholders on reliable education sector plan

Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has urged stakeholders to develop a reliable plan for its two new initiatives on education to boost quality service delivering in the state.

Bello made the call at meeting with the stakeholders at the Government House, Lokoja on Friday.

The two initiatives are State Education Sector Plan (SESP) and State Education Strategic Operational Plan (SESOP)

Bello, who was represented by Chief Asiwaju Asiru Idris, the state Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning, said there was no better time to plan for education development in the state other than now.

Bello said that education remained his top most priority from 2021 till the end of his tenure.

According to him, if we are to be part of the 21st Century, education, science and technology are very key, hence the need to put together a workable and reliable plan that would address the critical needs in the state.

The governor commended the commissioner and the entire staff in the Education ministry for initiating the SESP and SESOP projects.

He challenged the ministry and the stakeholders to do everything possible to make sure Kogi ranked the best state in terms of education sector in Nigeria.

”By the grace of God, we will ensure that we support you to achieve this goal,” Bello said.

The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Wemi Jones, commended the stakeholders for the meeting.

According to Jones, globally, education has assumed a central focus in most countries as a determining factor for economic development as well as development of social capital.

He said that sustainable education could only be achieved through evidence based education sector plan.

”The Kogi State Education Strategic Operational Sector Plan is a three-year plan from 2021 to 2023, derived from the State Education Sector Plan (SESP), which is a 10-year plan from 2021 to 2030.

He stressed that the sector plan was primarily needed to understand the undermining factors impeding against the education sector and to offer a solution to it.

”’On completion of the SESP and publication of Annual School Census, Kogi State stands to gain positive attention from both international and local donor agencies that are concerned with educational development at basic, post-basic and tertiary levels.

”It is expected that the SESOP will inform the annual budget going forward”, he said.

The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Pastor Emmanuel Idenyi, thank all participants for honouring the invitation in spite of the short notice.

Idenyi solicited for their continued support to produce a workable plan for the state.