Abiodun signs education, skills trust fund bill into law

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has signed the State Education and Skills Trust Fund Bill into law

The new law provides a framework for sustainable funding and improved management of education and skills development in the state.

Speaking after the signing ceremony at the Governor’s Office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Oludaisi Elemide, said the legislation would strengthen the delivery of quality education and improve learning outcomes.

He explained that the bill followed extensive consultations with stakeholders and members of the public.

The Speaker also called for increased private-sector participation in funding education, noting that government alone could not provide the resources required to effectively develop the sector.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Abayomi Arigbabu, said the Trust Fund would cater for both formal and informal education, with emphasis on skills acquisition and vocational development.

He said the fund would provide an additional source of financing apart from the state’s normal budgetary allocation, particularly for school infrastructure, bursaries, teacher support and maintenance.

Professor Arigbabu explained that the state had previously operated the Trust Fund under an executive bill signed three years ago, adding that the new law would provide stronger legal backing.

He said the legislation would also support the integration of informal education into the state’s education system through the re-engineering of the traditional apprenticeship model.

The Commissioner disclosed that over nine thousand youths had so far benefited from various vocational training programmes in the state.