How Governor AbdulRazaq restored glory of primary/basic education in Kwara, took public schools to world stage

By Demola Akinyemi Ilorin

When Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara state assumed office in May 2019, available records showed that the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) had been crippled by infrastructural decay, corruption, and irregular recruitment.

Before the current administration came on board, UBEC had blacklisted Kwara and banned the state from accessing education grants from 2014 to 2018 over allegation that the state accessed a ₦1.5 billion UBEC grant in 2013 but that the funds were diverted instead of being used for school infrastructure.

Several pupils in public schools particularly in remote communities were learning under the trees when community interventions failed. One of such was Aho community in Asa Local Government Area of the state. A community leader in the Aho community, Jimoh Zakariyahu in a viral video recalled how several community interventions failed and resulted in pupils learning under the trees.

But the administration of Governor AbdulRazaq has now changed the fortunes of the community by constructing classrooms with standard benches and tables in addition to electricity after accessing over ₦7 billion matching grants to commence the revitalisation of basic education in the state