The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Sunday, said with the support of teachers and other stakeholders in the education sector, the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation programme, and other reforms that have transformed the state’s education system will be sustained.
Obaseki gave the assurance while making his remarks at the Education Ecosystem Interdenominational Thanksgiving Service held at the Sir Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub in Benin City, the state capital.
Noting that teachers in the state are the pillars on which his government’s reforms rest, Obaseki said with the gains recorded in the last eight years, the state would never go back to the era of educational system decay.
He said, “It’s almost impossible to kill a good idea. It will be difficult to kill EdoBEST as what you have started will be sustained. We started it with you and you own it. Never again will Edo go back to the era of 2016 where we started from.
“The idea of EdoBEST and the educational reform was not our doing but spiritually-driven. It’s your doing. The idea of our education will not die. I thank you teachers for all your efforts as you are the pillars on which our reforms are resting.
“It was clear from the beginning that if teachers are not trained, the children will not learn. We thank you because you didn’t reject our reforms and our training for you made our reforms possible.
“EdoBEST would not have been successful without the parents, teachers and communities, as they have contributed to the sustenance of the reforms. Our teachers are amazing as they have taken a personal interest in the lives of the children.”
Obaseki stated that “through the ecosystem,” his administration was able to “connect 15,000 teachers, 500,000 pupils in our schools and other tertiary institutions of learning. It connects with over one million citizens in the state. It shows how important this sector is to us, which was why we made it our priority,” among others.
On her part, the state Commissioner for Education, Dr Joan Oviawe, thanked the governor, the teachers and other stakeholders in the state’s education sector.