FG TO ESTABLISH MORE TECHNICAL COLLEGES —DR NWAJIUBA

Reporter : CHINAZO ILECHUKWU

The Minister of State for Education, Dr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba has called for more budgetary allocation to the education sector to enable the government to meet the educational needs of Nigerians.

He made the call while speaking on Radio Nigeria Heartland Fm Owerri news interactive programme “Issues of the Moment.”

Dr. Nwajiuba noted that the Federal Government through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) had continued to support states by way of providing counterpart funds but expressed regret that resources given to some states in the past were not utilized.

The Minister further lamented that UBEC funds released to the past administration in Imo State were used to construct storey building classroom blocks, which the same government later abandoned while states that requested to use the fund to hire teachers failed to do so.

Dr. Nwajiuba, however, noted that the present administration was changing the narrative as measures had been taken to ensure that the monies were used for purposes they were meant for.

He announced that government would establish more technical colleges to complement the one hundred and ten unity secondary schools owned by the Federal Government across the nation.

On the issue of security, the Minister stated that government was working hard to improve security in schools to ensure that the challenges witnessed in some parts of the country did not disrupt academic activities.

Answering questions from callers, Dr. Nwajiuba called on youths to take advantage of the Social Investment Programmes of the government to better their lots, noting that President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

He dismissed the insinuation that the south east was being marginalized by the Federal Government and called on Ndigbo to disabuse their minds as President Buhari meant well for the people.