The Kogi Government on Monday commenced the data capturing of pupils in public primary schools in the state to ensure effective educational planning.
The Kogi State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, had recently carried out data capturing of private schools in the state, where the Commissioner, Mr Wemi Jones, said the ministry achieved over 80 per cent success.
The commissioner while addressing the head teachers at the ministry on Monday in Lokoja, commended them for their turnout and cooperation.
Jones said that capturing of private schools had been done by the ministry; hence the need to extend it to public schools as part of government’s plans to boost teachers’ welfare and revamp the education sector in the state.
He stressed the need to have accurate data in terms of number of teachers as well as their qualifications, pupils, infrastructures, facilities, conduciveness for learning and other vital details that would aid effective educational planning.
”We want to take Kogi back to that era where primary education becomes the true foundation of education, hence the need to have an idea of what is happening at the primary school level.
”The most important thing to us as government is laying a good education foundation.
”If you have good structures and facilities, but the people that are supposed to take care of our children are not motivated, how will they deliver effectively?
”So, we need you to give us the accurate figure of all the required information to ensure proper education planning.
”Let me assure you that in no distant time from now your welfare shall be improved,” he said.
He urged the teachers to freely communicate with the ministry and made their grievances known across board so that the ministry could address them.
He recalled that the state’s Education Law 2020 had empowered the ministry to effectively carry out its functional mandate including closure of any erring school that fails to register.
He added that the ministry had put all the necessary arrangements in place to close down all unregistered schools in the state when schools resume this September.
He said, ”For a child of school age to be out of school and on the streets during the school hour is now prohibited, and any erring parent would be prosecuted.”
Jones added that international donors were ready to assist education in the state, but that could not happen without reliable data to work it.
”This is an exercise that His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, is very much interested in effective educational planning in the state,” he said.
Earlier, the Director, Education Planning, Research and Statistics (EPRS) of the ministry, Dr Elizabeth Animoku, urged the teachers to give accurate data about their schools to the ministry, saying data remained a vital key in education planning.
In their responses, some of the teachers commended the state government and the ministry for the initiative, but however, appealed for the review of the issue of percentage payment of salaries to primary school teachers.
Hajia Hadizat Abubakar, Head Teacher of Islamiya School 2, Kabawa,, Lokoja, appealed to the state government to stop payment of percentage salary to teachers in primary schools and begin to pay full salary.
NAN reports that the required information for the data capturing include: number of classrooms, pupils, level of operations, teachers and their qualifications, and new entrant enrolment for 2020/2021 session.
Others were: number of chairs, tables, desks, toilets, computers and their usabilities, library condition, laboratories and other relevant details. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
