Some stakeholders in Ebonyi have lauded the N23.9billion allocated to the education sector in the 2021 appropriation bill of the state, which stands at 19.47 per cent of the budget.
They said the figure was commendable, describing education as the only key to growing nations and states.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Gov. David Umahi had on Dec. 15 presented an appropriation bill of N122.8 billion for the 2021 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly.
The 2021 budget is tagged “Budget of Stabilisation and Consolidation in a Recession.”
“We have budgeted 19.47 per cent of our total budget or N23,913,778,152.08 to Education,” the governor said.
He said that the government believed that the best thing to give to the society was education, and would ensure that in 2021, no child of Ebonyi was without it.
Umahi said the government would pursue the training of teachers with more incentives and continue to improve on the quality of schools’ infrastructure and learning materials.
Commending the allocation, the Commissioner for Education, Dr Onyebuchi Chima, told NAN in Abakaliki that it was a welcome development that would go a long way in deepening the development achieved in the sector.
“We thank God for the 2021 appropriation bill. We also thank the governor for giving much priority to education of the people.
“The budget captured the slash made by the governor on the fees of students in Ebonyi State University — N20, 000 for indigenes and N10, 000 for the non-indigenes in the school,” he said.
The commissioner said that infrastructure development had been spread across schools in the 13 local government areas of the state since the governor came on board, and would be enhanced by the allocation.
Mr Hyacinth Ikpor, Chairman, Ebonyi State Universal Basic Education Board (EBSUBEB), said since the governor came on board, over 2, 000 classrooms had been built in primary and secondary schools across the state.
“Over 13, 200 seats are ready for distribution to schools. We have 1, 000 computer sets also meant for distribution to schools,” Ikpor said.
Mrs Elizabeth Eze-Anyim, Chairman, Secondary Education Board said the budget was a step to ensuring more development in the state’s educational system. (NAN)
