The Edo State government has introduced a digital platform for the electronic generation and verification of educational certificates and report cards. This initiative aims to streamline the management of educational records and mitigate the risk of distortions.
Additionally, to combat student bullying, the government has established a dedicated hotline for students to report incidents of harassment and maltreatment by teachers.
Dr. Paddy Iyamu, the Commissioner for Education, made these announcements during a press briefing, reflecting on the educational advancements achieved within the first 100 days of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s administration. He emphasized the government’s commitment to equipping students with relevant skills by revitalizing technical colleges throughout the state.
“We have just launched a technological platform, where all Edo State students can go online and assess their certificates,” stated Iyamu.
He highlighted the previous challenges students faced in manually retrieving their certificates, noting, “Before, you usually had to go and start checking for your certificates manually, and we had cases of students misplacing their certificates.”
Iyamu elaborated on the governor’s proactive approach to addressing infrastructural decay in schools. “When the incumbent Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, came on board, we went to the length and breadth of the state and the three senatorial districts to identify some of the infrastructure decay in our schools,” he explained. “The governor immediately gave a marching order that the decayed and dilapidated schools be renovated and reconstructed.”
The administration has also approved the hiring of 500 new teachers and significantly increased the subvention for Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, from N41 million to N500 million.
On the importance of skills acquisition, Iyamu remarked, “We have people who have gone to school at the end of the day seeking jobs. Some of them turn to social vices, but having a youthful population with the required skill is also another dimension of employment creation and wealth creation.”
He noted that the government is currently overhauling the syllabus of technical colleges to address contemporary challenges and better prepare students for real-world problems.
Addressing concerns regarding the EdoBEST initiative launched by the previous administration, Iyamu stated, “One of the major problems with the initiative is that you cannot be teaching students where the teachers are using tablets that cost Obaseki’s administration billions of Naira, but the students are sitting on the floor, without windows or doors in the classrooms. Then, what is the essence of such education?”
