A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Dr. Ernest Afolabi Umakhihe has expressed deep shock and dismay at the state of education in Edo State.
Speaking with newsmen in Benin, Umakhihe said the educational sector in Edo has since been relegated to the background in recent times occasioned mainly by policy flip-flops.
Umakhihe added that the good old days of Edo State in education, sports, and entertainment can be re-invented if the state government re-orders its priorities and also places a greater premium on the sectors.
Umakhihe, who is a retired Federal Permanent Secretary, is one of the leading gubernatorial aspirants for the Edo 2024 Guber on the platform of the APC.
Umakhihe noted that under his administration, educational policies and programmes will be aggressively executed if elected.
According to the erstwhile Federal Permanent Secretary, “I will replicate the era of the late Prof Ambrose Alli as Governor of the old Bendel State, which marked the glorious days and golden era of Edo’s education. ”
He said the Prof. Ambrose Alli period witnessed a rapid explosion in educational enrollment with parents and guardians queuing into the ‘open access to education’ policy of the state government to improve the future of their wards
He added, “that the audacious execution of the free and compulsory education policy of the era also witnessed a huge leap in educational infrastructure spending as new school buildings, complete with libraries and science equipment sprang up everywhere in the state. In addition, bursaries and scholarships were given to deserving students.”
