Wike Earmarks N30bTo Upgrade Public Schools

Public Schools in the Nation’s Capital will soon wear a new look within the next 100 days.

This is because the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike has earmarked N30.9 billion to renovate all dilapidated structures and worn out furnitures in public schools.

The Mandate Secretary, FCT Education Secretariat, Dr Danlami Hayyo, made this known in Abuja while intimating Journalists on some of the interventions the Education Sector received from the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike.

He explained that the approved money would be spent holistically on renovation of 40 schools, a project designed to be completed before the end of May 2024.

Responding to questions on the criteria for the 40 benefiting schools, Dr Hayyo said it was based on schools with the highest degree of dilapidation and out of school children ochestrated by insecurity, like the case of Bwari Area Council.

“In FCT, there are so many schools that need the support intervention otherwise, maybe in few years, nobody will go to that school, even the children will not be happy to learn in the environment, total dilapidation, so we decided to pick the schools that has serious dilapidation issues”.

Dr Hayyo who added that four additional schools would also be renovated in the second batch at the cost of N4.5bn also hinted that the FCTA had set up a temporary shelter to cater for the influx of out of school children from Neighbouring States into the territory.

“You see the problem now we are facing is that, because of the security issues in our neighbouring states like Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger and even some parts of Zamfara, Sokoto and Yobe and other states, majority of people are relocating to Abuja”.

Dr Hayyo further explained that the temporary shelters would help the out of school children acquire skills and study as well.

“We established a temporary shelter whereby those children, out of school children will be kept there, in the morning they may go looking for work, for what they can do, but in the afternoon they will be there and attend classes”.

“So establishment of these temporary shelters will address the issue of out of school children, and not only the learning, they are learning both literacy and numeracy, they are learning skills because we established skills acquisition centre in collaboration with mass education” Hayyo explained.

He commended Nyesom Wike for his boldness and the release of such amount of money into the education sector, and noted that the FCT Education Secretariat had been neglected by past Administrations.

“The previous administration neglected the education sector. No meaningful intervention by the previous administration in the education sector of the FCT.That is why the huge work is going to be done by the current administration. That is why the minister took education as a serious matter and earmarked N30 billion”.

He also thanked the FCT Minister, for his intervention of 40℅ of the #70bn minimum wage arrears owed primary school teachers by the six area councils.

By Remi Johnson, Edited By Grace Namiji