The Kogi Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Wemi Jones, has restated its government’s commitment to pay more attention to primary and secondary education development in the state.
Jones disclosed this on Friday during an unscheduled monitoring and supervision visit to Government Science Secondary School (GSSS), Lokoja.
He said that government would pay a lot of attention to inspection, examination, supervision and evaluation to ensure strict compliance to education laws in the state.
“We are going to be doing things very differently, we will pay a lot of attention to inspection, examination, supervision and evaluation.
“Government is going to pay much more attention to the issue of primary and secondary school education as far as Kogi is concerned.
“The basic education appear to be the area where we have a lot of work to do, and we are going to focus very much on it.
“We are not going to shy away from relieving people of their jobs, redeploying principals or even terminating their appointments if we find them wanting,” Jones said.
The commissioner noted that the state had three universities, one polytechnic, two colleges of education, a college of nursing, a college of health sciences and a vocational institute (NKFI).
“It is from our secondary schools that we will get students admitted into those tertiary institutions, and we cannot ignore it.
“Our educational focus, especially, for the secondary schools is majorly on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM),” he said.
Jones further encouraged the teachers to get a copy of the Kogi State Education Law 2020, and acquaint themselves with it so as not be caught doing the wrong things as teachers.
Jones warned that aiding and abetting exam malpractice in any form by principals to the least staff would no longer be allowed as perpetrators would be prosecuted.
He added: “I am coming to beg you so that you will not come and beg me later. We will be taking stringent decisions on any misconduct.
“No matter who you know or how highly placed you think you are in the society, nobody will answer you if you are caught on the wrong side of the law.
“We cannot toy with the future of our children because they are the future of our state.”
Jones emphasised that Gov. Ahmed Ododo remained committed to the developmental strides of the immediate past Governor, Alh. Yahaya Bello.
The commissioner assured that teachers’ welfare would be properly catered for along with the infrastructure development.
He urged the staff to do their own part, so that the government would be encouraged to do more.
The Principal, Government Science Secondary School Lokoja, Mr Stephen Ajayi, said he was elated by the unscheduled visit, saying it was a form of assistance to help motivate the teachers to up their game.
Ajayi commended the state government for the infrastructure development in education as well as recruitment of teachers in the state.
He said that GSSS Lokoja now had enough teachers for all their subjects, but appealed to the state government for provision of teaching and learning aids.
The commissioner also took time to go round various classrooms to monitor the teachers teaching the students. (NAN)
By Stephen Adeleye
