By Eunice Orike
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike has revealed that his administration has committed a whopping $1,045,176,470 billion (approximately N177 billion) to develop education infrastructures in the FCT.
This was disclosed in a statement by the special assistant media,to the FCT minister of state, Austine Elemue.
The minister who was represented by the Minister of State FCT, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, also noted that Abuja’s annual budget for the development of education has surpassed the UNESCO benchmark of 26 per cent.
This significant investment includes a N3.5 billion counterpart funding from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC)
Wike made this announcement at the sixth International Conference on Learning Cities in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
The minister who was represented by the Minister of State FCT, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, emphasised that Abuja’s annual education budget exceeds the UNESCO-recommended 26% benchmark.
This commitment demonstrates the administration’s dedication to providing quality education and investing in the future of the FCT.
Some notable investments in education infrastructure include:
– *Renovation of Schools*: 21 primary and junior secondary schools have been completely renovated.
– *Establishment of Senior Secondary Schools*: 30 new senior secondary schools have been established.
– *Tertiary Education*: The FCT Administration has committed N14.5 billion for the completion and launch of FCT University, Abaji.
Wike also highlighted the administration’s commitment to teacher training and educational infrastructure development in the six area councils of the FCT.
The city has adopted a “whole school” approach, promoting peace, security, and tolerance through knowledge, skills, and global awareness .
Other area of infrastructural investment according to the Minister include the tertiary education sector, adding that the FCT Administration has committed the sum of N14,529,622,993 billion for the completion and launch of FCT University, Abaji.
“UNESCO generally recommends that member nations have a budgetary allocation benchmark of at least 26 per cent to education.
“This benchmark is intended to ensure that countries can adequately address needs of their education system such as teachers, training, infrastructure development and educational technology.
“It might interest my audience to know that Abuja’s annual budget for education surpasses the UNESCO benchmark”, he said.
Wike, reiterated that the city under his watch has invested heavily in the training and retraining of teachers and educational infrastructure in the six area councils of the territory.
He affirmed that the administration has maintained a total commitment to the Abuja Learning City status as emphasised by UNESCO, adding that Abuja city has adopted a “whole school” approach system that promotes peace, security, and tolerance through knowledge, skills and global awareness.
It could be recalled that the sixth International Conference on Learning Cities (ICLC 6) focuses on strategies to promote climate action through lifelong learning.
The conference brought together representatives from UNESCO learning cities, policy-makers, educators, researchers, and other stakeholders.
