Quality, access top our education agenda ' FG

THE Federal Government has said that the main concern of the administration in the next few years will be on how to improve the quality and increase access to education at all levels.Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i, said this when she received a delegation of Jigawa State Assembly Committee on Education, Science and Technology, which was on solidarity and support visit.Rufa'i was, until her first appointment as minister of education by President Goodluck Jonathan in the last dispensation, the commissioner for education, science and technology, Jigawa State. Jonathan reappointed Professor Rufa'i based on her sterling performance during the one year she served as minister of education.The minister said that of the six critical areas captured in the four-year education plan of the government, quality and access would be given priority attention while touching on others simultaneously.She noted that the nine new universities established by the government, which Jigawa State benefitted from, was part of the effort to boost access to tertiary education in the country. Rufa'i, said the critics of the creation of the new universities should see it from the angle of the responsibility of government to provide education to the citizenry.She assured that government would ensure smooth take-off of all the institutions this year. On the call by the Jigawa lawmakers for upgrading of Jigawa State College of Education to a degree awarding institution, the minister assured that their request would be looked into and urged them to ensure that necessary requirements are met.She said the visit of the lawmakers was motivating and inspirational, adding that she would continue to do her best in achieving the transformation of the education sector in line with the desire of the present administration of President Jonathan.Earlier, the leader of the delegation and Chairman of the Jigawa State Assembly Committee on Education, Mr Nasir Mohammed, disclosed that they were at the ministry to declare the support of the Jigawa State government for the minister.He presented a request of the Jigawa State government for the upgrade of Jigawa State College of Education to a degree awarding institution, just as he told the minister that plans were underway for the establishment of a School of Basic Studies (SBS) in the state for the preparation of students for admission to universities.
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