Discussions are ongoing between Sokoto State government and the embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nigeria to establish Multimedia Academy in Sokoto State.
This is as the state government engages the British High Commission in Nigeria to ensure rapid integration of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into various facets of social services and governance, including the education sector.
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal stated this Wednesday during the foundation laying of new Government Girls Science Academy, Kasarawa, in the state capital.
According to him, since his administration came on board in 2015, the education sector has been given utmost attention.
”As a Government, we are doing all that is humanly possible to ensure that the education system in Sokoto State gets maximum attention because we are convinced that to remain effective and competitive in this 21st Century, policy formulation, implementation, review and improvement must be sustained,” Tambuwal added.
He said a bold step was taken to salvage the education sector in the state after careful analysis of the existing system and the subsequent declaration of a State of Emergency on Education, which paved way for critical appraisal of all the inherent problems bedeviling the education sector.
The governor added that a very competent committee was set up, which conducted holistic reviews and made recommendations to the State Government that have inspired the actions taken in the form of several interventions, projects, programs and activities across the 23 Local governments in the state.
Tambuwal said a key initiative is the establishment of the Female Education Board, in order to ensure maximum support for girl-child education in the state.
He also said the state government has established the ‘Right to Education Act 2017’, to ensure that no child is left without education, stressing that the Act stipulates punishments for parents who refuse to allow their children to go to school.
Tambuwal further explained that his administration, has streamlined the state policy on science and technology and established a ‘Department for Women and Youths Technology Innovation and Invention’ under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
He said this strategic move is to ensure that women are given equal opportunities to excell in all facets of innovation, creativity science and technology.
According to the governor the new Government Girls Science Academy, Kasarawa, will be a fully science oriented institution that will have integrated components of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) across all its premises.
He also stated that state government has also commenced preparations for the establishment of new Junior Secondary Schools across the 23 local government areas in the state.
In addition to that state government, he pointed out, is establishing three Special Girls Science Academies, three boarding secondary schools in Kasarawa and the in Senatorial Districts of the state.
In her address the Minister for Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen who laid the foundation of the school said governor Tambuwal has supported and encouraged women so much right from the grassroot up to state.
She said the foundation laying of the school is historic and the governor is bequeathing a legacy that is the best is to the people especially women.
The minister also thanked the governor on behalf of Nigerian women and children for the giant efforts to them.
Highlight of the ceremony was the foundation laying of the school by Mrs Tallen.