Edo state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has commended the Association of Esan Professionals (AEP) for launching a N250 million education trust fund initiative aimed at improving the falling standards of secondary education in Esanland.
He said his administration identifies with such laudable efforts that complement the state government’s Edo Best education programme, a system of education he affirmed has made the state one to beat.
Governor Obaseki, who was represented by the Special Adviser on Political Affairs, Mrs. Philomena Ihenyen, said the recent West Africa Examination Council result where the state was declared the overall best is a testimony to such efforts undertaken by AEP and the fact that the state’s programme is working.
Government, she said, is ready to collaborate with AEP to improve education in the state, while thanking the association for its efforts.
President of AEP, Mr. Efe Akhigbe said the event was a unique one, being the first fundraising initiative organised since the inception of the association 21 years ago, adding that the fund formed part of efforts to ensure Esan boys and girls of secondary school age are taken out of the streets.
Akhigbe explained that the theme, “Securing the Future of Esanland and its People through Education” was chosen following a previous similar interventionist programme and result of research conducted in schools across Esanland.
He disclosed that AEP intervened by providing teachers in 15 secondary schools and payment of salaries for three teachers per school spread equally among the five local government areas in Esanland.
Chairman of the occasion and the Adolor of Ewatto and Odolagbon of Warri Kingdom, Chief Leemon Ikpea, urged well-meaning Esan sons and daughters to donate generously to the course.
