Free education: Taraba govt flags off students’ identification project

Taraba State governor, Dr Agbu Kefas, has flagged off the Taraba State Students Identification System (TESIS), in Jalingo on Wednesday.

The TESIS is a data-capturing system that seeks to get the accurate number of schools and pupils in the entire state.

Speaking, the governor said government policy on free education has come to stay and that a major plank of the free education programme is to ensure that data plays a central role.

Kefas described the event as a significant one, adding that the identification project officially flags off the free education policy rolled out by his administration.

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He stressed that while every child in the state is entitled to free education, parents must take responsibility for their children by making them available.

The governor also said teachers are a cornerstone of the policy, and assured that they would be motivated to play a pivotal role in learning.

Kefas said the financial burden of education has been officially rolled off from parents and urged all to support the efforts of the government by providing necessary information on how best to improve the model.

“The programme introduced by my administration will be of deep benefit to parents, teachers and students in the state,” he said.

Earlier in her address, the commissioner of education, Dr Augustina Godwin, said the governor has matched words with actions by ensuring that free education becomes a reality.

She commended the level of architectural work that went into building the new schools.

A highlight of the programme was a demonstration of the data capturing by the governor who registered some students.