The Edo State Government and the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Sunday disagreed over the employment of 4000 teachers by the administration of Mr Godwin Obaseki and other reforms in the education sector......READ THE FULL STORY>>.....READ THE FULL STORY>>
A member of the APC Transition Committee, Kassim Afegbua in a statement signed and made available to journalists in Benin City said the recruitment was an attempt to overload the system and lay a booby trap for the incoming administration.
Afegbua said, “The recruitment of 4,000 teachers by the out-going government of Governor Godwin Obaseki in Edo state, is an attempt to overload the system and lay booby traps for the in-coming administration of Senator Monday Okpebholo.
“This has further confirmed our position that the EdoBest project was a hoax and not for the good of the Edo people nor its educational system. Governor Obaseki used the project for his self-interest; playing with the future of our children.
“The purported recruitment of 4,000 teachers by the outgoing Governor is in bad faith.
“All through his active years as Chief Executive of Edo state, Governor Obaseki could not recruit any teacher to reinvigorate the educational interest of the state.
“We are however saddened by the sudden realization in the twilight of his administration that the educational sector now needs teachers.
“It is pertinent to alert the public and particularly those allegedly recruited as teachers to disregard the exercise and see it as another political ploy by Governor Obaseki, known for using EdoBest to allegedly defraud the citizens, the World Bank and other donor agencies.
“He only used the project for personal self-aggrandisement and that of his cronies. If he meant well for the state, he ought to have done this recruitment long before now that his game was up. ”
Earlier, the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, said that with the support of teachers and other stakeholders in the education ecosystem as well as the institutional buffers placed by his government, the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) programme, and other reforms that have transformed the State’s education system will be sustained.
Obaseki gave the assurance while making his remarks at the Education Ecosystem Interdenominational Thanksgiving Service held at the Sir Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub in Benin City, the Edo State capital on Sunday.
Obaseki noted that teachers in the State are the pillars on which his government’s reforms rest. He said that with the gains recorded in the last eight years, the State will never go back to the era of educational system decay.
According to him, “It’s almost impossible to kill a good idea. It will be difficult to kill EdoBEST as what you have started will be sustained. We started it with you and you own it. Never again will Edo go back to the era of 2016 where we started from.
“The idea of EdoBEST and the educational reform was not our doing but spiritually driven. It’s your doing. The idea of our education will not die. I thank you teachers for all your efforts as you are the pillars on which our reforms are resting.”
Obaseki continued: “It was clear from the beginning that if teachers are not trained, the children will not learn. We thank you because you didn’t reject our reforms and our training for you made our reforms possible.
“EdoBEST would not have been successful without the parents, teachers, and communities as they have contributed to the sustenance of the reforms. Our teachers are amazing as they have taken a personal interest in the lives of the children.”
He noted that the education ecosystem in Edo State, like most parts of the world, interacts with the largest number of the population, “Through the ecosystem, we are able to connect 15,000 teachers, 500,000 pupils in our schools and other tertiary institutions of learning.
“It connects with over one million citizens in the State. It shows how important this sector is to us, which was why we made it our priority.
“We came in 2016 when the system had failed. The biggest business in Edo South at the time was human trafficking and our children never wanted to go to school. The system only produced and rewarded lions and tigers.”
Obaseki further stated, “I am finishing my term, but not finishing from Edo State as we will continue to provide leadership for Edo State and continue to advise to ensure Edo forward.
“We have a lot of work to do, as our work for 8 years is just a scratch on the surface. The whole idea of the education reforms we have undertaken is for a better society. We had to create an environment where our people will find work.”
