From Ike Cletus Ngah
According to John Dewey: “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” In view of the above statement, the Executive Governor of Ebonyi state, His Excellency, Rt Hon Bldr Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru upon assumption of office on May 29, 2023 didn’t leave anyone in doubt on his utmost prioritization of the education sector in the state. His commitment to improving the standard of education is also informed by the submissions of Benjamin Franklin: “ the investment in knowledge pays the best interests” and Malcolm X : “ Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
First and foremost, Governor Nwifuru upon his assumption of office quickly unbundled the Education Ministry in the state by creating a separate Ministry Tertiary Education and Primary/Secondary Education and voted huge budgetary allocations to the sector. For instance, in the 2025 budget, the education sector was allocated ₦70.14 billion, the largest single‐sector allocation.
Beyond the huge budgetary allocations in the education sector, Governor Nwifuru granted foreign and local scholarships to over 1000 postgraduate students with a vision to sponsor 8000 Ebonyians before 2031. Heartwarmingly, both the oversea and local scholars are showing great promises in their academic pursuits with some of them already rounding up there Masters degree and transiting to their PhDs under the sponsorship of the state government.
Another Midas touch in the education sector is the emphasis on holistic reforms aimed at overhauling and unifying the academic calendar, curriculum and textbooks across the primary and secondary schools in the state. The governor has strongly emphasized that reforming the curriculum, particularly at basic and secondary education levels, with emphasis on technology and science, is his utmost priority. This approach not only provides for improved infrastructure, better learning environment, technology-driven but also provides more resources for the education sector.
Moreover, the Governor approved the recruitment of over 2000 teachers for both the Universal Basic Education Board and the Secondary Education Board in order to bridge the teachers-students ratio, boost the morale of teachers, create personalized attention for each student and above all strengthen the education sector in the state.
As if this is not enough, the governor has aggressively upgraded the school infrastructures and established new Model Schools across the 13 council areas of the state. For instance, the government approved the upgrading of 39 secondary schools across all 13 Local Government Areas into “model colleges”. The new model schools are constructed with modern classrooms, labs, admin blocks and offices with over 39 projects of one storey building each (24 classrooms) in all the selected model school across the state. Therefore, each of the 13 council areas has 3 model schools of one storey building each containing 24 classrooms, offices, admin block and labs.
There’s equally an overhaul of the State owned University, EBSU and the establishment of two new universities: the University of ICT Oferekpe and the Aeronautics and Aerospace University Onueke. There is a massive infrastructure upgrade of EBSU and improvement of the staff welfare. The Monthly subvention was increased to ₦350m and an additional 20% increase to the salaries of the workers. Accreditations were also secured for new and existing courses with the building of a new faculty of engineering and environmental sciences. This has greatly improved the physical learning environment such as the classrooms, labs, buildings which are the precursors for attracting/retaining students and enabling better teaching & learning.
Amazingly, the new Commissioner for Education, Dr Ilang Donatus has introduced cutting edge curriculum reforms and radical policy changes that greatly repositioned the education sector in the state. Under his watch, the government introduced nine bold education policies, developed in consultation with school principals and head teachers, etc.
Some of the Key reforms include:
1. Adoption of unified textbooks across public & private schools
2. Digitization of the First School Leaving Certificate process
3. Closure of unapproved schools
4. Integrating entrepreneurship/skills acquisition into curriculum
5. Banning compulsory lesson fees and restricting graduation ceremonies to only the JSS3 & SS3, etc.
These reforms will not only harmonize the education curriculum and calendar but also ensure more equity (less fee burden), standardization (textbooks), and relevance of education (skills + entrepreneurship) which help in making education meaningful for today’s ever dynamic job market.
Furthermore, the government has granted both operational and logistics support to schools & Principals through workshops, training and retraining of teachers. In fact, in one of the education‐sector meetings, the Commissioner emphasized that the government is ready to provide tools (including vehicles) to schools and principals to enhance productivity. There are also some measures put in place to protect school infrastructure from encroachment by perimeter surveys and fencing of school properties. Other supports include the distribution of free textbooks, exercise books, laptops and other educational materials to public schools across the state.
In summary, Governor Nwifuru’s forward looking approach to educational reforms is not only multifaceted but will significantly improve the education sector, drive policy reforms- technological advancements, integral formation of the valued child; reduce costs and ensure quality education at all levels. In few years to come, Ebonyi state will boast of professionals, seasoned academics and experts in diverse fields due to the huge investments the Governor is making in the educational sector in the state.
Hon. Ike Cletus Ngah is the Special Assistant to Ebonyi State Governor on
Internal Security in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
