The parlous physical condition of most public secondary schools in a country speaks loudly of many years of government neglect and non-prioritization of education.
This is as teaching facilities, curricular as well as quality of teachers have continued to decline, posing serious concerns to students and genuine stakeholders in the education sector.
But the above sad narrative is positively different in Akwa Ibom as the state Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel has been unrelenting in his commitment towards making education a top priority.
The Akwa Ibom state government had organized the 1st ever Education Summit in September 2019 to address the systemic rot. The essence of the Summit was aptly captured by Governor Udom Emmanuel “We are not just doing one of these political gatherings. We are determined to change the structure, the content, and the output of our educational system in Akwa Ibom state”.
The summit birthed The Akwa Ibom Education think tank and the setting up of ten model secondary schools as one of its core Roadmap.
The appointment therefore of five persons to the Akwa Ibom state Secondary Education Board under the chairmanship of Dr. Ekaete Ebong Okon and their subsequent monitoring exercise within two days of assumption of office signals their readiness to change the narrative.
The board and monitoring team traversed 15 secondary schools spanning the ten federal constituencies of the state.
The board also carried out on the spot assessment of COVID-19 compliance by teachers as well as students who were writing their Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations, SSCE
Assessment of classroom blocks and other facilities were also carried out and the board chairman had informed newsmen that recommendations from the findings shall be forwarded to government for necessary action.
The schools visited include West Itam secondary school, Itu, Community Secondary School Ifiayong Usuk, Uruan, Uyo High school Uyo, Secondary Commercial School Nung Udoe, Ibesikpo Asutan among others
