Aregbesola’s intervention in education second to none – WAEC

The West African Examinations Council on

Friday commended the Osun State

Government for boosting the education

system through the introduction of

innovative technological device.

The examination body rated Governor Rauf

Aregbesola's interventions in education as

"second to none" in Nigeria, especially in

the provision of massive infrastructure.

A statement by the Bureau of

Communication and Strategy, Office of the

Governor, signed by the Director, Mr. Semiu

Okanlawon, quoted the Head of the Nigeria

National Office of the council, Olutise Isaac

Adenipekun, as stating these when he led

the delegation of the national management

of WAEC to the Governor in Osogbo.

Adenipekun applauded Aregbesola for

ameliorating education with innovative

technologies.

Adenipekun said: "The ongoing revolution

in the infrastructural re-engineering of the

school complexes in the state of Osun has

also caught the attention of all stakeholders

in the education sector in Nigeria and

beyond.

"The immense contribution of the state

government in the development of

infrastructural facilities in schools, in

particular, the Mega Schools Project, is

remarkable.

"It is in fact second to none in Nigeria."

WAEC said Osun State has helped to mitigate

common difficulties usually encountered by

the students while writing Senior

Secondary School Certificate Examinations.

Adenipekun said Osun State has

contributed significantly towards

enhancing Information and Communication

Technology required in the education

sector, which, according to him, remains

the prerequisite to development of quality

education in the country.

Adenipekun, who recommended the Tablet

of Knowledge to other states of the

federation, said the initiative had

contributed towards educational

development.

He described the innovation as a tool of

educational revolution, breakthrough aimed

at enhancing and encouraging the process

of teaching and learning through the use of

innovative technology.

According to him, there is no doubt that the

state government had recorded huge

transformation in eradication of the rots in

education sector through the introduction

of the device.

He said: "We are here in recognition of the

state's contributions to technological

innovation and development to the

education sector in the state of Osun since

inception of the present government.

"We are particularly proud of the landmark

achievement and the major breakthrough

of the current administration in Osun, most

significantly in education sector, by the

introduction of the ground breaking 'Tablet

of Knowledge', also known as Opon Imo, to

students of the state at secondary level.

"As we commend the efforts of Mr.

Governor on the landmark achievement and

major breakthrough of his administration

in education, most importantly on the

widely applauded Tablet of Knowledge,

which had improved and encouraged

teaching and learning, we equally

recommend other states to key into this

initiative so as to improve the education

sector."

Adenipekun said the policies of the state

had been structured not only to revamp

education, but to make the state the

pacesetter in good governance.

Adenipekun expressed gratitude to the

state for its cooperation and support to the

West African Examinations Council in

Nigeria, which, according to him, had

assisted the organisation in the smooth

running of the Council's office in the state.

He said: "We must express our deep

appreciation to the government and good

people of the state of Osun for their

continuous cooperation and support to the

West African Examinations Council in

Nigeria, that has enhanced the smooth

running of the Council's office in the state.

"We also appreciate the cordial relationship

that has existed between the state of Osun

and our flagship organisation as we

express our gratitude to the government

and good people of the state for the

enormous contributions they have made to

the progress of WAEC and the development

of sound education by positively inspiring

in diverse ways the teeming youths of the

country.

"The enormous support of the State

Government has enabled us to provide

quality service to the people in diverse

ways."

Adenipekun said the Council is willing to

partner with other state governments to

ensure that it eradicates examinations

malpractices, which he described as a

menace to the education sector.

He said: "We are committed to improving

our service delivery to stakeholders and we

will continually ensure smooth conduct of

our examination (WAEC) in the state of

Osun.

"As part of our determined effort to impact

positively on the quality of youth

development and education in general, the

Council is ready to collaborate with states

Ministries of Education to create further

avenues for experience sharing with

teachers in the secondary schools in areas

of standardised testing and candidates/

students assessments."

Adenipekun noted that the Council was

ready to partner with the government in

the area of e-testing and e-assessment as

part of efforts to further recognise the

state's giant steps in introducing ICT to

teaching and learning at the pre-tertiary

levels.

He said: "We must re-emphasise our

commitment to the development of

education in Nigeria and we appreciate

your support to the Council in fulfilling its

mandate as an examining body."

Governor Aregbesola, who described the

Tablet of Knowledge as a panacea to

education revolution, said the state had

recorded national and international awards

on the initiative.

He said the state would continue to do the

needful in supporting education sector,

which he described as "bedrock of

development".

Commending WAEC for maintaining

education standards in the country,

Aregbesola said the examination body had

contributed tremendously in raising the

standards of education in the West African

sub-region.

He reassured the people of the state of his

administration's resolve to turn around the

fortune of the sector even in the face of the

current economic hardship.

Aregbesola said the state was ready to

collaborate with WAEC and other relevant

examination bodies to improve on the

standard and quality of education sector in

the state.

He said: "We are quite happy with the

steady and certain growth that our

intervention in education had recorded, just

as your visit would also encourage us on

how to double our efforts and collaborate

with your organisation to boost education

sector in the state.

"We are ready to partner with your

organisation in raising the quality of our

teachers towards the preparation for pre-

tertiary examinations."