EDTF BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF ATTEND A FIVE DAY CAPACITY BUILDING RETREAT

  The BYS EDTF Board has organized a Five day training/retreat programme for Board members and senior staff of the Fund with the theme; “Funding of Education: surmounting the complexities through Trust Fund”. The programme was held from the 12th to 16th of June, 2023 at Leadwort Hotel, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

In his remarks, the Ag. Chairman of the Board, Professor Francis Sikoki stated that, the aim of the retreat was to examine the strategies towards overcoming the challenges posed by scarce resources for funding education. According to Prof. Sikoki, the retreat would provide the participants the opportunity of learning how to manage the complexities of education funding through Trust Fund.

He noted that, despite the early laudable achievement of government, Bayelsa State was still classified as educationally disadvantage state, a situation that made the Seriake Dickson led administration, upon inauguration, to declare a state emergency in the education sector to address four critical areas which includes; infrastructural shortfalls, low level of funding, inadequate teaching and learning facilities giving birth to establishment of the EDTF in 2017.

According to him, the mandate of the Board is to mobilize and sensitize all the indigenes of Bayelsa State, local and international organizations to contribute to the Fund, identify all other sources of funding to sustain the Fund and judiciously administer and regulate the funds for the development of education in the state with view to become world class educational intervention agency driven by stakeholder participation.

He explained that from the inception of the Trust Fund, the Board and the fund secretarial leave been vigorously pursuing the vision employing various strategies to achieve its set goals and objective through committee system.

The Board operate in committee system which includes Fund Generation and Investment, Project Monitoring and Evaluation, Scientific Research and Technology Development, Sensitization and Mobilization Committee. Others are; Project Proposal Review, Budget, International Donors/Development Partners Committees.

Professor Sikoki further highlights some of the Fund’s achievement to include; funding of 13 Model Boarding Secondary Schools, access of ICT, Computer Based Testing (CBT), Centre at UAT, Broad-band Internet Services at NDU, training of students and teachers in coding and robotics in collaboration with the Odyssey Educational Foundation.

Others are: seeking partnership with Rotary International to provide potable water in Community Secondary School Okutukutu, collaborating with Dr. Anthonia for the provision of WASH programme for the Ijaw National Academy and the Kaiama Grammar School and the funding of 5 batches of the Teacher Training Programme through the TTRCB.  

The Board also sponsor the school feeding programme, procurement of an 18 seater Toyota bus for the Ijaw National Academy (INA),  provision of adequate teaching and learning materials, provision of vocational training and skills acquisition, a centre of excellence in building technology at the Technical College Okaka, provision of bursary/scholarship, award of scholarship to 16 special education students at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, award of special overseas scholarships in hardship areas, support for Bayelsa State student loan scheme, and sponsorship of a state wide schools debate and others.

In her welcome remarks, the Executive Secretary Dr. (Mrs.) Alice Atuno said the retreat was organized to improve capacity of members towards UIS charging their duties diligently with the view to contributing to the development of education in the State.

According to her, the Board has been working tirelessly carrying out its activities effectively which has shown some tremendous growth as well as expanding the partnership with other Donor Agencies.

She said, the Board has made tremendous impact in the development of education in Bayelsa State.

According to her, the Bard had also shifted its attention towards ICT development in the Model Secondary Schools.

She thanked the resource persons for willing to share their knowledge and assured that the Board would tap from their wealth of experience and put it to good use.

Speaking as a resource person, Prof. Julius Kola Wale Adeyemi who said education is cost intensive and no one Government has successfully provided for the educational needs of its people urged the EDTF to explore other available sources of funding to improve the standard of education.

He stressed the need for all hands to be on deck towards the continuous funding of education to promote sustainable sustainable development of education in the state.

The Ag. Dean, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Associate Prof. Godwin Poi, in his presentation stated that, as interventionist agency who had given support to individuals and intervened in critical government educational programmes,  the EDTF should shift attention to Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

Associate Prof. Poi said the EDTF could achieve this by engaging philanthropist and other educational friendly organizations to enable students acquire the needed technological skills in creating jobs and wealth for the citizenry.

Prof. Ambily Etekpe who spoke on Strategies of Sourcing for Fund said, the EDTF should provide a road map by specifying the types define the purpose, the cost as well as the time limit for such activities and urged the Board to invest the idle funds in Treasury, Money Market Fund (MMF), government bonds, mutual funds, real estate and others stating that, the EDTF should extend the scope of strategies of sourcing for fund to include, institution LNGOS, INGOS  and other organization to secure their buy-in to enable contribute to achieve set objective.

On his part, Prof. Ibaba S. Ibaba said the best ways to overcome the challenges of funding education is through contributory funding and urged the EDTF to float a proposal in line with the law establishing the Trust Fund to seek percentage contribution from benefiting contracting forms of government, constituency projects of legislators, LGA councils, funding of science and innovation in tertiary institutions as well as the development investments and the planned activities and programmes.

Another Speaker, Engr. Emily B. Ikuru who spoke on financial wellness said, it is the ability to carefully and thoroughly manage an organizational resources to achieve set goals and objectives noting that haphazard ways allocation of resource would cause huge set back of the organization Moring forward.