PLANS are underway by the Oyo State government to establish model technical colleges beginning from 2021 as part of efforts to improve technical education. A new curriculum will also be developed to improve learning in public primary schools across the state.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye, gave the hint in Ibadan last week Wednesday, adding that the state government had also concluded arrangements to establish teacher resource centres across the state.
Olaleye made the remarks at the presentation of the 2018/19 Annual School Census Report, a planning document for school administrators and education policy makers produced by the Oyo State Department of Planning, Research and Statistics, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
The document which is based on data analysis developed for formal and informal school managers captures both public and private schools in the state.
Presenting the 156-page document to education stakeholders at the Emmanuel Alayande Resource Centre, Samonda, Ibadan, the commissioner remarked that the statistical report is inevitable for effective planning for all schools in the state.
While reiterating Governor Seyi Makinde administration’s commitment to the provision of quality education, the commissioner noted that since the society is not static, education must respond to the changes with the help of accurate and updated data.
“Annual School Census Report is a yearly event conducted by the Department of Planning, Research and Statistics, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, for the purpose of obtaining data for policies, planning, monitoring and evaluating the system towards effective management of education in the state, in collaboration with all education agencies in the state.
“Oyo State believes in an educational system that provides equal opportunity to every Nigerian irrespective of gender, social status, age and religion to nurture their mind and inculcate the right values and morals in them,” he said.
The permanent secretary, Mrs Aminat Atere, in her goodwill message, commended the United Nations Children’s Fund and education agencies in the state for their support towards the production of the Annual School Census Reports, and appealed to stakeholders to make good use of the report in their education planning.
In a paper presented by Mr Adebayo Salaam, it was revealed that there are 2,449 public primary schools, an increase of 35 schools (1.45 per cent) compared to 2017/2018 academic session; 567 Junior Secondary Schools, an increase of 1.05 per cent; 566 Senior Secondary School; 4,059 private schools (a 2.9 per cent increase over the 3,945 in the previous academic year; and five public technical colleges in the state.