Kwara State Government has received national praise for efficiently and technologically driving the FG-UBEC sponsored Model Smart School in the shortest time since its foundation in the state.

Dr. Hamid Boboyyi, Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), who examined the facility on Friday, was delighted by what he witnessed, particularly how technology is being completely used in the state to impart information on school children.

This was contained in a statement issued in Ilorin on Saturday by Aminat Biola Atere, Press Secretary, Kwara SUBEB.

The statement said the officials from UBEC were in the state for a two-day working visit.

On Friday, they visited the Model Smart School in Adeta and other UBEC-funded schools in the state before paying homage to Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi, who received them on the Governor’s behalf.

They were also received by the Chairman, Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board, Prof Sheu Raheem Adaramaja and the representative of the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education and Chairman Teaching Service Commission, Bello Tahoeed Abubakar, among other principal officers of the Board.

“So far, I am very much impressed. I have seen how they have deployed technology in the school in terms of the smart box, tablets and other digital items. I must congratulate the Kwara state government, SUBEB and the teachers, who are class managers, for their wonderful jobs,” Boboyyi told reporters in Ilorin after inspecting the model school.

Kwara and Kano are the first two states to benefit from the pilot scheme of the UBEC’s Smart School, with each of the states expected to prioritize the use of ICT for teaching of pupils in basic classes.

He commended the state government’s commitment to educational growth including the proper handling of the Model Smart School, and thanked Prof Adaramaja-led SUBEB for his “rare support” in getting many things done.

“We have come to see what is going on in the school. If you remember, the school commenced a pilot system in the state, where it admitted the pupils for some selected classes.

So, we have come to find out and seek to address the challenges it may be having since it’s inception, especially the reported delay in supplying and installing some basic facilities, so that everything can be put in place before the school fully takes off come September, 2023”.

Boboyyi said he was confident about the choice and better delivery of Kwara for the pilot system, acknowledging the government’s huge investments in basic schools and the kind of pedigree the state has in the education sector in the whole North central.

“I appreciate the government of Kwara state and the SUBEB in the sense that I have been to Kano and I saw what is in place they are trying in terms of enthusiasm and the learning system and other facilities. But, Kwara impresses me more in terms of the control of classrooms, the dynamics that take place and application of technology among others. I knew Kwara to be a paragon, and I am very serious about this,” Boboyyi added.

He said the idea of establishing the IT-based smart school was to give an average Nigerian child improved access to digital learning in line with the international best practices, calling on all state governments to replicate the model school standard in their own education system.

Speaking on the delay in supplying and installing other facilities to the school like solar and CCTV equipment the Executive Secretary promised to summon the affected contractors to do the needful or risk their contracts being revoked.

Deputy Governor, Kayode Alabi, in his remarks, said the government will continue to support UBEC in its efforts to build a solid foundation for school children, who he noted deserves a better future.

“The foundation really matters, and with Smart Model School, it makes our children become very smarter. If the foundation is good, the sky is just the beginning for the children,” Alabi said, while receiving the team at Government House Ilorin.

“We appreciate your coming and we assure you of our support, and to continue to work with you because we know you are building the future of our children. We need to give them proper education and good exposure”.

Chairman Kwara SUBEB, Prof Sheu Raheem Adaramaja, for his part, praised the UBEC for the initiative and for the visit that he called a product of mutual trust between AbdulRazaq administration and the regulatory body.

He stated that the introduction of Model Smart School in the state has enhanced public trust in the operation of government-owned schools and increased patronage, and he requested that the Executive Secretary look into some of the challenges the school is currently facing.