Doubling down on his free education policy, Taraba state governor Dr. Agbu Kefas has said pupils will now be provided free uniforms and textbooks as part of the package in the policy. Teachers will also get to go for refresher courses. These all part of the measures to cushion the adverse effects of the withdrawal of fuel subsidy.
According to a press statement by Hon. Emmanuel Bello, Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Digital Communications.
The governor at an expanded parley with teachers and school heads in Jalingo, reiterated his conviction that education is the best route to development.
Kefas also disclosed his commitment to making education free and compulsory at the Primary and Secondary School.
Relatedly, Dr. Kefas has slashed tuition fees at the Taraba State University by 50 percent. The university have since rolled out the new tuition fees to start running in September.
Speaking on the impact of the Thursday meeting, many teachers expressed their gratitude, stressing that the interactions has enabled them to catch a vision of the governor. They pledged their support to the effort, noting that the education emergency was timely.
A teacher who gave his name as John said the summit is one of its kind. In his words, “I have been teaching for 15 years and I can’t remember when last we had this kind of interaction with the state leadership. This is a great place to start. We now see that the governor means business beyond the promises of politicians during campaign. The governor has also visited many schools so he has seen first hand the conditions of these Schools. We are going to cooperate with him to achieve his dreams.”
Meanwhile, the state government has set in motion plans to build model schools across the state. In one of his pronouncements, Gov Kefas said better class rooms are a corner stone of the emergency project. He said, “going round these schools is an eye opener. They are in deplorable conditions. Our interventions will have to start from there. We are engaging experts to build better learning centers equipped with modern teaching tools.”
