Implementation of four-year strategic education plan on course – Rufa’i

The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, has said that the implementation of the Four-Year Strategic Plan for the Development of the Education Sector (2011-2015) is on course, stressing that credible progress has been made in the six focal areas as outlined in the plan.
The Minister stated this in her address at a two-day workshop for the six focal areas Task Teams for the mid-term review of the four-year plan held on Monday in Abuja.
Rufa’s said the mid-term review meeting was imperative to examine progress made, challenges and where necessary make adjustment to meet the set goals.
Highlighting achievements made, the Minister said: “What we have been doing in a lot of cases is to lay and build on solid foundations for the future, bearing in mind what caused the challenges that we are now tackling.”
According to her, beside strengthening institutional framework in the system, a number of steps have been taken to increase access, including the construction of 125 boarding and day schools for almajaris, the launch of the Access Campaigns in the North and the South East geopolitical zones to address peculiar enrolment challenges, establishment of 12 new federal universities, nine of which have started academic activities among others.
Rufa’i, who described the President Goodluck Jonathan administration’s commitment to ensuring quality of education delivery as total, noted that in 2012, over 200 blocks of classrooms were constructed across 29 states of the federation, while over N19.7 million materials have been provided in the key subject areas for Basic Education across the country in the past two years to support the teaching learning process.
She added: “At the tertiary education level, there has been a boom on infrastructural transformation. In each of the institution, all areas of infrastructural challenge are being addressed through the provision of new facilities as well as rehabilitation of existing ones. For example, between the first and fifth phase of the High Impact Initiative of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, over N109 billion have been provided to Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education to enhance their facilities to as well as encourage their development to become Centres of Excellence. These are in addition to a number of initiatives aimed at promoting quality in higher education. These include the Book Development Fund for which N3 billion has been committed and is meant to encourage scholarship in our higher institutions through the production of books and journals.”
Speaking further, the Minister said that it was as a result of the resolve to address all challenges facing the sector that needs assessments of each area of the education sector were carried out.
In her words: “We have done this for the Federal Unity Schools and it is helping in their transformation. The recent one carried out for all public universities has led to a presidential intervention to ensure that challenges identified are given due attention. As a result, N100 billion has been committed to this and Mr. President have inaugurated an Implementation Committee chaired by His Excellency, Dr. Gabriel Suswan, the Governor of Benue State.”
She reaffirmed the commitment to move the sector ahead, saying: “We shall continue to dig deep and identify further challenges and address them.”
The Minister therefore appealed to all stakeholders to continue to show understanding, support and partnership, noting that “our actions today will define where we are tomorrow.”