Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has been awarded the 2020 Best Education-Friendly Governor in Nigeria by the National Parents’ Teachers Association, NPTA.
The award, which was presented to Governor Abiodun at his Oke Mosan, Abeokuta office is for his landmark achievements in the education sector.
Presenting the award, NPTA President, Chief Adeola Ogunbanjo, acknowledged the innovative ideas brought to bear in the sector while highlighting, free education, stoppage of education levies, offering of automatic employment to best graduating students in higher Institutions, renovation of schools and increase in student’s enrollment, as some of the factors that led to the award.
Ogunbanjo said, “We have observed your landmark achievements in the education sector. You did not only make education free, you stopped payment of education levies in the schools, employed best graduating students in our higher Institutions and you are renovating schools.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, no incident was recorded in Ogun schools. Of course, this is possible because you brought your managerial skills into play. We see you as education friendly governor and that is why we are giving you this award as the best governor in education for 2020.”
The NPTA President also called for the inclusion of the association in the scheme of things in the state, adding that the OgunDIGI Class as an innovation that kept students in the state busy during the pandemic, calling for its adoption by other states.
An elated Governor Abiodun said his administration would focus on technical and vocational education as a means of taking the youth out of unemployment market.
Prince Abiodun who described technical and vocational training as one of the ways of engaging the youth positively, noted that his administration has revitalised some of the technical colleges to train artisans and also set up a TechHUB facility to enable youths leverage on Information and Communication Technology, ICT.
The governor said the ongoing rehabilitation of primary schools across the state was to provide the right environment for teaching and learning, assuring that the gesture would be extended to secondary schools and technical colleges.
Informing that government was working towards a uniform curriculum, while fibre optics cable was currently being laid to educational Institutions, to enable students have access to Internet service and allow for e-learning, Abiodun called on the association to partner the state by offering useful advice that would help to further reposition the sector.
