Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has described the ongoing construction of three Almajiri Schools in the state by the Federal Government as a welcome development.
The governor spoke while receiving the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, who paid him a courtesy call in his office on Thursday.
He said that the schools, when completed, would go a long way in affording the Almajiris and other less-privileged members of the society the opportunity to have access to education.
The schools, which are currently at various stages of completion, are located in Ibadan, Oyo and Oke-Ogun areas of the state.
Ajimobi expressed the state government’s readiness to access the Universal Basic Education Commission grants, pledging that the funds would be judiciously utilised.
The minister had earlier explained that the construction of the schools was in fulfillment of President Goodluck Jonathan’s electioneering promise to provide education for the less-privileged in the country.
Wike commended the state government for the provision of land for the construction of the schools and said that out of the 400 Almajiri schools proposed for construction in Nigeria, 61 would be constructed by UBEC.
The minister also disclosed that the over N1 billion Basic Education grants for Oyo State had not been accessed by the state government, stressing the need to do this as soon as possible.
While expressing satisfaction with the level of job done on the schools under construction, Wike lauded the cooperation of the state government for the construction of the projects.