EKITI State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has approved N200 million to take care of car and housing loan requests by teachers, which were pending at the State’s Ministry of Education.
Governor Fayemi, who gave the approval on Wednesday, also directed the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education to put in necessary documents for the commencement of disbursement of the loan on first come first served basis.
Fayemi said: “Only well-motivated teachers can mould excellent students” and pleaded with teachers and other stakeholders in the state’s education sector to show more commitment to the progress of the students and assured that his administration would provide necessary support.
He said: “As we set to motivate the workers, we need you to also take the work a lot more seriously because our children are our future.”
Also on Wednesday, Governor Fayemi issued an executive order revoking education levies in primary and secondary schools in the state.
The Executive Order 001 of 2018 which was signed by the governor at a ceremony in Ado-Ekiti, takes immediate effect.
The signing of the executive order was witnessed by the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT); Parents Teachers Association (PTA) and students of some public primary and secondary schools in the State.
Governor Fayemi said the executive order “further demonstrates the commitment of the administration to free, compulsory and uninterrupted access to formal primary and secondary school education throughout the State.”
He said through free education, the state government was set to curtail the growing number of school dropouts in primary and secondary schools.
According to him, his administration “considered it necessary to effectively implement the educational reform at the earliest possible time to save education in the State,” and added that “the order has made it unlawful for any government agency or local authority to impose a levy or any fee for purposes of education in any primary and secondary school in the State.”
Fayemi clarified that while schools were allowed to collect voluntary donations from parents or old students associations, “no student in the state public schools should be denied access to classrooms for failing to pay such voluntary contribution.”
He said while the universal basic education makes education free from primary to the junior secondary schools, the current administration in the State is making education free from primary as well as junior and senior secondary schools.
“It is a violation of the Universal Basic Education law to deny a child the right to education simply because his or parents could not afford the fees or levies being charged,” the governor said. He also directed the Ministry of Education to issue a circular to all schools on the implementation of the order.
The Governor reassured teachers in the State of regular payment of their salaries and allowances.
The governor reiterated that the main focus of his administration was to prioritise knowledge economy which is aimed at making the difference between Ekiti and other states adding that government would be compassionate and sensitive to the best ideals of our democracy and development.
Responding, the state NUT Chairman, Comrade Samuel Olugbesan, commended the government for scrapping the education levy which he said has increased the number of school drop out in the State. He also thanked the governor for the approval for the N200 million for teachers car and housing loans.
Olugbesan assured the government that teachers would be more committed and dedicated to their duties since the government has decided to make their welfare a top priority.
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