*Obaseki awards contract for refurbishment of 230 primary schools in Edo*

*…compiles lists of another 230 for award*

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has approved the contract for the refurbishment of 230 primary schools across the state, to provide for conducive learning environment for pupils in the schools.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said this in Benin City, the state capital on Wednesday.

He noted that the state government is committed to making learning pleasurable for pupils in the state, adding that the review of a list of another 230 primary schools is in progress, after which contracts for their refurbishment will be awarded.

According to him, “The governor has approved the contract for the renovation of 230 primary schools in the state. This is in furtherance of his commitment to ensuring that students in the state learn in a conducive environment.

“It is also coming as the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) is set to roll out the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) in more schools across the state.

“With the award, contractors are expected to be on site working on the schools. As that is ongoing, we are also in the process of compiling another batch of 230 public primary schools for which contracts would be awarded in the first quarter of 2019. This will bring the number of schools marked for renovation to 460.”

He said that an audit of another 800 schools is also ongoing, after which schools found to be in need of renovation would be added to the 460, noting that the state government is not going to leave any school behind in the rollout of the renovation programme.

“We are committed to ensuring that the schools in Edo State are in good shape. We have had to take our time to do this because we wanted the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) to be in place so they can play a critical role in ensuring that the schools are well run and that whatever is provided for the schools are not vandalised,” he said.

Good one Oba..