Education Gulps N9.6 Billion In FCT This Year – Official

The Secretary in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Education Secretariat, Senator Isah Maina has said that the Administration committed over  N9.6 billion on Education development projects in the territory this year, 2017,
Maina who spoke to news men today, Wednesday, in Abuja, said that education-related projects worth N2.8 billion were completed while projects worth nearly N4billion were awarded and would be completed in a few months’ time.
The Education Secretary said that the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, approved the payment of the sum of N2.8 billion for counterpart projects between the FCTA and international partners.
Some of the projects already completed and paid for by the Education Secretariat, Maina explained, are the construction and rehabilitation of over 400 primary and junior classroom blocks across the territory, fencing of three secondary schools, furnishing of classrooms, offices, transit and staff quarters at Abuja University of Technology, Abaji, and provision of laptop computers to secondary schools in Kuje and Jabi among others.
Other projects worth N3.8 billion that were awarded and awaiting completion are the furnishing and equipping of science laboratories at GGSS Kuje and GGSS Abaji for computer based exam (CBE) Centre, ITVI, Utako, supply of laptop computers for students.
He said that under the counterpart projects, the FCT minister authorized the release of the sum of N2.8 billion counterpart funds, which enabled the administration to access the UBE funds, including the unpaid arrears of 2014 for the Teachers Professional Development (TPD) fund.
According to Maina, the FCT has been up to date in its financial obligations to UBEC having paid up to 2016.
He said that the Administration approved the disbursement of N96 million under the FCT Education Assistance Scheme to clear the backlog of 5,450 students that applied for scholarships for the 2015 award season, which will commence after a pre-disbursement audit of the applicants soon.
He said that the school feeding has been carried upward from N200 to N300 per student per day, to improve the quantity and quality of food for students in the boarding schools.
He said that school heads have also been given the opportunity of rising to the position of grade level 17 as is the case in the federal ministries and some states across the country, adding that the FCT Administration has designated 20 schools as Grade A schools and their principals can now rise to the position of grade level 17.
He said that 2,981 teachers, supervisors and quality assurance officers were trained, using the assessed UBE Teacher Professional Development Training (TPDT) funds.
He said that the Board also carried out cluster sensitization of 1000 primary and junior secondary teachers while 50 junior secondary schools teachers were trained on entrepreneurial skills.
He said that about 100 other primary and secondary school teachers were trained on the use of Classmate Computers for e-learning while 200 Quality Assurance Officers conducted local training for 1,400 teachers under the strengthening Mathematics and Science Education (SMASE) programme to ensure that teachers have the required skills to function as 21st century science and mathematics teachers.[myad]