The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, is parading the trailblazing success of the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) programme in the state at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), holding in New York, United States of America.
The governor is a guest speaker at the World Bank Group’s side event tagged ‘Ending Learning Poverty,’ organised to discuss and highlight the ways in which institutions and states, such as Edo State, is working to eliminate learning poverty.
The World Bank estimates that only half of the children in low and middle income countries can read and understand short messages by late primary school age.
However, states like Edo have viable programmes to address this challenge and Governor Godwin Obaseki is an example of a leader that is trying to achieve the SDG4 and forcefully and urgently taking action on the education crisis.
In the Edo-BEST programme, over 8,700 teachers have been trained and equipped with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) devices for improved learning outcomes, which have positively impacted over 150,000 school children in the state.
Over 234 schools are being reconstructed with 7094 computer tablets distributed to teachers and headteachers. 11688 School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) members have also been trained to help in administering and maintaining public education facilities.