Group urges A’Ibom govt to implement education roadmap

Akpan Umoh, Uyo

An Abuja-based group, Educational Roadmap Advocacy, has urged the Akwa Ibom State Government to rejuvenate the state education roadmap in the interest of education development.

The group’s leader, Mr Kris Ekefre, made the call at a press conference in Uyo.

Ekefre, also the Editor of Rainbow Magazine, said nothing serious had been done concerning the education roadmap implementation about five years after its release.

It should be recalled that the Akwa Ibom education roadmap was initiated in 2019 by the former Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel.

A 17-member committee led by Prof. Hilary Inyang, a Geo-environmental Engineering expert, drew up the roadmap to ensure sustainable development of the education sector.

Ekefre expressed dissatisfaction that the state government had yet to implement even the first phase of the roadmap.

“The essence of that roadmap was to address the decay in the education sub-sector, it recommended programmes capable of turning the education sector around.

“It is painful that not even the first phase of that roadmap has been implemented.  This does not show seriousness.

“The second phase and the narrative edition has also not been completed for an enabling law to emerge and enable grants to be accessed,” he said.

He urged the state government to revisit the roadmap to rekindle growth in the education sector.

In his reaction, Mr Ini Ememobong, the Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Information, said that the state government did not abandon the education roadmap.

Ememobong said that the foundational programmes in the roadmap had since been kick-started by the Gov. Umo Eno-led administration.

“From what the current administration is doing in infrastructure and curriculum, you will agree that the fundamental programmes are already ongoing.

“We are aware of the importance of education, we are deliberate about the growth of education,” he said.