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From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
Plateau State Governor, Barrister Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, has expressed commitment to establishing a State Senior Secondary Education Board (SSEB).
This, according to a statement by the director of press affairs, Gyang Bere, is in an effort to revamp the educational sector of the state for efficient service delivery,
Bere quoted the governor as making the commitment when the executive secretary of the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), Dr. Iyela Ajayi, and his team paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
Mutfwang emphasized the need for urgent intervention in the infrastructure of senior secondary schools to create a conducive learning atmosphere that would enable students compete favourably with their global counterparts.
While commending the Federal Government’s initiative in establishing the NSSEC, Mutfwang pledged to replicate a similar setup in Plateau State so that the state could access potential interventions from the commission.
The governor noted that, since the commission was new, there was need to embark on advocacy visits to let people know more about it.
“I know the debate that has been going on about the gaps at the secondary school level and it is gratifying to note that government took action to establish a commission to take charge of this critical sector of our educational system.
“The senior secondary school is a very critical juncture in the educational pursuit of every student. But for sometime it has been very glaring that things have been done haphazardly. The standard is deteriorating and it is a welcome development to attempt to put standards in place for secondary education”.
Mutfwang advocated the inclusion of other secondary schools that were neither private nor public-owned into the commission’s intervention to enhance their contributions in shaping competent young individuals to drive the country’s economy in the near future.
He said that the bill for the establishment of the State Senior Secondary Education Board would be worked on immediately and forwarded to the Plateau State House of Assembly without delay.
NSSEC executives, Dr. Ajayi, expressed gratitude to Governor Mutfwang for the warm reception and explained that the commission would provide infrastructural development for secondary schools, with the state contributing 5 percent of the funding.
Ajayi said the Federal Government revitalized the NSSEC in 2021 to regulate and improve senior secondary education, ensuring minimum standards and intervention in Nigeria’s secondary education.
The NSSEC boss said, in order to benefit from the federal government’s intervention fund, states are required to meet certain conditions, including establishing a Senior Secondary Education Board by the NSSEC Act.
The state board, Ajayi said, should comply with the composition and functions as provided in the act, with NSSEC representation and uniformity in SSEB laws.
