A Kwara State-based Civil Society Organisation, Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), has again called on the Kwara State Government to prioritise funding of education even at the period of financial constraint.
The Coordinator of the group, Dr. Alagbonsi Abdullateef, in a statement released on Saturday emphasised the need for the state government to urgently access the UBEC matching grant to provide conducive learning environment for children in the state.
“We launched #FundKwaraEducation campaign and examined substantial number of schools in the 3 senatorial districts of the State. We took pictures and videos of the current condition of many schools we visited, and made a documentary of them.
“We have called the Kwara State Government’s attention to the pitiable condition of many public schools in the state oftentimes, so that a state of emergency on Kwara education can be declared by the State Government. We referred the state government to the Five Billion, One Hundred and Thirty Nine Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Four Hundred and Ninety Six Naira (N5,139,980,496.14) UBEC matching grant that had not been accessed by it as at 11th September, 2018. We argued that, if this money is accessed by Kwara State Government, the current poor educational infrastructure could be adequately fixed to improve the state of education in the state”.
“Reacting to our queries, the State Government disclosed that the drop in the Federal Allocation coming to Kwara had made it impossible for the state to Access the UBEC Matching grant that is meant for the funding of Basic School Infrastructures.”
The coordinator of the group, Dr. Abdulateef Alagbonsi, further described as untenable, the state government’s excuse of dwindling federal allocation as the reason for not accessing the UBEC grant.
