Kwara State Achieves Milestone by Offering Financial Incentives to Pupils, Seeing Significant Uptick in Attendance and Scholarly Achievement

Malcolm X once said, "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today," and the administration of Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in Kwara has taken these words to heart, implementing stunning reforms to reposition the education sector over the last seven years.

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The Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development in Kwara state, Dr Lawal Olalekan Olohungbebe, recently granted an audience to Saturday Vanguard Editor Onochie Anibeze and Kwara state Correspondent Demola Akinyemi, where he discussed the challenges faced by the education sector seven years ago and how they were addressed.

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Dr Olohungbebe explained that one of the major challenges was infrastructure, which is typically taken care of through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), where states pay counterpart funds to receive matching grants, but Kwara had not paid its counterpart funds since 2013 and 2014, until the current administration paid the outstanding funds between 2019 and 2020.

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The payment of counterpart funds allowed the state to access grants and start building, with a focus on renovating and constructing schools, including 600 schools that were in dire need of infrastructure intervention, and the state has continued to pay its counterpart funds till the last quarter of 2025.

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Another challenge was the deployment of teachers to schools, with a huge concentration of teachers in urban areas and a lack of teachers in other areas, resulting in uneven education quality, but the governor introduced Kwara LEARN, a program that ensures all teachers have access to the same curriculum and lesson notes on a Tab, which also allows for real-time monitoring of teacher attendance and student performance.

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Kwara LEARN has been successful, with the state winning the President's debate in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and even representing Nigeria in international competitions, including a recent win in Malaysia, with students from public schools in Ilorin and Offa emerging as champions.

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The state's performance in WAEC and NECO has also improved, and the commissioner attributed this to the rigorous recruitment process for teachers, which includes a computer-based test and a demonstration of teaching skills, resulting in the recruitment of 1,900 qualified teachers.

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The teachers are also trained regularly, including a recent training on AI, and the state has carried out a drug test for all newly recruited teachers, paid for by the governor, to ensure that students are not left in the care of drug users.

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In terms of infrastructure, the state has built or renovated 1,995 classrooms and is currently working on 149 schools, adding to the existing infrastructure, and the commissioner noted that the focus is on providing a conducive learning environment for students.

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The state has also implemented a program to increase student enrollment, particularly for girls, through the Adult Girls Initiative Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) program, which includes paying stipends to girl students in GSS One and SS One, with each student receiving at least 40,000 Naira per term.

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The program has been successful, with a significant increase in girl student enrollment, and the state is compiling a list of beneficiaries, with 32,000 students already benefiting from the program, and an additional 10,000 students to be added soon.

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The commissioner noted that the state's greatest legacy in education is its style of teacher recruitment, which has resulted in the employment of qualified and motivated teachers, and this has had a positive impact on student performance and overall education quality.

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Insecurity has also affected education in the state, with schools closed in 10 local government areas at one point, but the state has worked to reopen the schools and increase enrollment, with the governor assisting with registration for WAEC and the state registering around 24,000 students for the exam.

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The state's tertiary education sector has also seen significant development, with the rehabilitation and upgrade of facilities across state-owned institutions, including the Kwara State University, Kwara State University of Education, and Kwara State Polytechnic.

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The state has also implemented various programs to support students, including scholarship and bursary programs, and has introduced new academic programs to meet emerging economic and industrial needs, as well as supported research and development initiatives.

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The cumulative impact of these initiatives has transformed the tertiary education landscape in Kwara State, with improved learning environments, higher student enrollment, and increased programme accreditation, and the state's institutions are now recognized as centers of excellence for research, innovation, and community development.