THE Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, has commended the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for its achievements and transparency in the implementation of the Universal Basic Education Programme.According to a statement by the commission's Public Relations Officer, Mr. David Apeh, Mimiko made this remark last Monday at the national flag-off of the third set of the Federal Teachers' Scheme (FTS), held at the Gani Fewehinmi Freedom Square, Akure, Ondo State.He said: 'I want to congratulate UBEC. Whatever anybody says about UBEC, you have brought a new consciousness and investment in basic education in Nigeria and nobody can deny that'. According to him, despite the challenges some states faced in accessing their funds, 'one thing is clear: That the process in UBEC is transparent and predictable, I want to congratulate you'.The governor, who implored UBEC and the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) to extend the two-year FTS to four years, also noted that the scheme was unique in the re-engineering the process of basic education in Nigeria.Mimiko informed the gathering that Ondo State had begun to democratise access to quality education, through the construction of 'Caring Heart Mega Primary Schools,' to reverse the current trend of dwindling enrolment of pupils in the public school system.In his own address, the Minister of State for EducationBarrister Ezenwo Wike said the federal government's commitment to provide qualitative basic education has remained a primary focus in its Transformation Agenda.He stated: 'We must therefore be conscious of our sacred duty to facilitate the education of the Nigerian Child.' He called on all tiers of Government to pool their resources together and place the basic education system on a sound pedestal.He urged all State Governments to ensure that successful participants of the scheme are absorbed into the teaching force in their states, in order to continuously bridge the teacher supply gap and ensure the quality of teaching in our schools.In his remarks, Chairman of the UBEC Governing Board, Prof. Tunde Adeniran called on state and local governments to complement the Federal Government's effort, by providing accommodation for the participants and ensuring their safety.He enjoined the participants to bring the benefit of their pre- service training to bear on their primary assignments in the scheme.The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed in his speech, said the FTS scheme has addressed basic education in terms of access, equity and quality 'which are in line with the Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).Mohammed informed the audience that since the introduction of the scheme, two sets of 66,715 participants in the Primary School component have successfully completed their service. Out of the 36,761 of the first set that completed their service in 2008, 25,360 (or 69 per cent) of them have been absorbed into the teaching service in 26 States and FCT.The Executive Secretary further revealed that progress was being recorded in the absorption of the 29,954 participants that completed service in the second set. 'For example all completers inAdamawa and Akwa Ibom States have been absorbed, while 600 out of the 850 completers have been absorbed in the FCT,' he said.
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