The Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, on Thursday, flagged off the distribution of 120,000 customised exercise books, 1,600 cartons of white chalks and 90 android tablets for basic schools in the state.

The project, according to him, was aimed to prioritise basic education, improve the number of enrollment into government schools and reduce the number of children who are out of school in the state.

Speaking at the event held at Burhanudeen Primary School, Ojagboro, Ilorin, Ilorin East Local Government Area, on Thursday, AbdulRazaq said the programme reshaped the future of education in the state.

Other items distributed include rulers, pencils, textbooks and some other instructional materials.

The governor, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Strategic Planning, Alhaji Saadu Salahu said, history will remember the efforts of the administration rescuing education in the state from collapse to a new height where Kwara now ranks among the best in the country today.

“Our interventions have been in phases and strategic. We began with restoring our relationship with UBEC.

“We have injected billions of naira to improve the learning environment across the state, and this is visible to the blind.

“We hired very competent teachers to man the classrooms. We introduced technology to empower these teachers and bring them up to speed in 21st-century teaching techniques through the KwaraLEARN initiative.

“We pay teachers their salaries in full, and we are steadily clearing the arrears we inherited. We have zero tolerance for examination malpractices. We have also introduced various incentives to encourage excellence across various levels.

“On top of these is the distribution of books, computers, and other educational materials to our basic schools,” AbdulRazaq said.

Earlier, the Chairman of the State Basic Education Board, Professor Shehu Adaramaja, disclosed that the governor's intervention in basic education has resulted in Kwara occupying the fifth position on the list of SUBEB States assessments.

“Before the inauguration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq's administration in 2019, Kwara SUBEB was occupying the 37th position, even the FCT was better than us then.

“His Excellency's renewed relationship with UBEC also attracted three out of 30 FG/UBEC Bilingual Education Schools for the state. Let me add that our governor's good interpersonal relationship also earned the state one of the best UBEC smart model schools in the country.

“This school is located in Adeta, Ilorin West Local Government Area and it will commence academic activities by April 2023,” Adaramaja said.