Ekiti News reports that the Ekiti State Government has disbursed cheques amounting to Two Hundred Million Naira (N200,000,000) as car and housing loans to four hundred (400) teaching and non-teaching staff members in public primary schools.
Governor Biodun Oyebanji, during the launch in Ado Ekiti, announced that the introduction of vehicle and housing loans for public primary school teachers fulfills his commitment to rectify the policy that previously excluded them from such benefits, making them the only significant group in the state’s public service without access to government car and housing loans.
Representing the Governor, the Head of Service, Engr. Sunday Komolafe, emphasized that in the pursuit of the administration’s goal to offer free and high-quality basic education to pupils in public primary schools, it was crucial to introduce incentives.
Komolafe said these incentives are seen as fundamental to enhancing the teaching and learning environment, boosting teacher morale, and establishing a framework that facilitates effective knowledge impartation by teachers.
Governor Oyebanji highlighted that the introduction of the new loan scheme underscores his administration’s unwavering dedication to the welfare and wellbeing of workers in the State. He emphasized that the scheme would also act as a motivation for the beneficiaries to enhance their commitment to their responsibilities, thereby ensuring efficient service delivery.
He emphasized that this gesture aims to provide primary school staff with a sense of inclusion, ensuring they are beneficiaries of these loans similar to their counterparts in secondary schools across the state.
Governor Oyebanji, however, urged the beneficiaries to recommit themselves to ensuring optimal performance by pupils in the national common entrance and placement examinations.
The Governor promised to continue with provision of infrastructural facilities for conducive teaching/learning environment to attract more pupils for enrollment in public primary schools, urging every stakeholder to compliment government’s effort in this regard in order to make public schools in the State enviable centres of excellence.
The Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Prof. Femi Akinwumi earlier in his welcome address said that the new loan regime for primary school staff is a testament to the commitment of the Oyebanji led administration to the welfare and development of staff in the basic education sector.
The SUBEB boss noted that the loan disbursement is just one of other incentives such as payment of outstanding salaries and allowances, approval of outstanding 2022/2023 promotion for over 4,000 public primary school teachers across the state, capacity building for teachers and support for ICT training programme under which 1145 computer tablets were procured and distributed to primary school teachers; among others, to ensure that primary school teachers also benefit from government in line with the shared prosperity agenda of this administration.
Prof. Akinwumi however emphasized that the loans are revolving in nature in order to give room for future recipients of the loans urging that the beneficiaries of the first tranche should maximize the opportunity and utilize the loans profitably so that repayment would not become a burden to them.
The Chairman also charged them to work harder and be more committed, diligent and dedicated to duty in order to impact qualitative basic education in the children being one of the greatest assets of the state.
The State Commissioner for Education, Dr Kofoworola Aderiye, in her goodwill message, stated that the event shows the importance of teachers to Governor Oyebanji’s led administration adding that the Government’s gesture is aimed at boosting the morale of teachers and ultimately improving service delivery in public primary schools in the State.
The Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Chief Folorunso Olabode, also in his goodwill message congratulated teachers on successful commencement of the loans scheme.
The Commissioner disclosed that the Governor had approved procurement of instructional materials worth over Hundred and Seventy One Million Naira (N171,000,000)to be distributed to public primary schools in the State.
Mrs Oguntamore Monisola of SUBEB Model Nursery and Primary School Ado-Ekiti, while sesponding on behalf of other beneficiaries, commended the Oyebanji Administration for the gesture and pledged the commitment of teachers in the State to their duties and to the ongoing transformation going in the basic education sector in the State.