Nigeria’s Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, on Thursday said that e-libraries will be set up in 50 unity schools across the country as part of a Federal Government initiative.
Speaking during a meeting in Abuja with the National President of the Unity Schools Old Students Association, Kabiru Koko, the minister said the e-library project was a directive from Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan. The presidential edict, Mr. Wike said, is for at least 50 schools to have well-furnished e-libraries between now and February 2013, in a bid to promote quality education.
According to the minister, it was regretful that with the exception of Kings College, most schools had no standard libraries.
“If we do not have these libraries how do we encourage the students to read? We want to encourage them to make references and researches.
“If we get [basic education] wrong at the foundation level, then there will problems at the tertiary level. That is why we are doing everything possible to make sure that we have a standard library in each school,” Mr. Wike said.
According to him, the essence of purchasing books is to ease the burden of the parents as most of the children in public schools are from humble backgrounds.
“I do hear that some publishers connive with the State Universal Basic Education Board Chairmen not to deliver the number of books ordered. And you find out that these books are not found in schools. So, we are putting in our best to ensure that there is a change in the way things were done,’’ he said.
Mr. Wike urged the association to collaborate with the ministry in improving the quality of education, saying it could solve some of the problems the unity schools face.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Koko said the association deemed it necessary to partner with the ministry towards improving the standard of education in unity schools.
Mr. Koko said many projects had been executed in this regard, and his association had received support from Central Bank of Nigeria, Shell, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, among others, in assisting the unity schools.
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