A new funding window for education and skill development is created by law.
The State Education and Skills Trust Fund Bill, which establishes a framework for sustainable funding and better management of the state’s education and skills development sector, was signed into law by Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun on Friday.
The Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide, told reporters during the signing ceremony at the Governor’s Office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, that the bill would enhance the provision of high-quality education and boost results throughout the state’s educational system.
According to Elemide, the legislation was created to make education “more meaningful, more qualitative, and more constructive,” and it was the result of thorough public and stakeholder engagements.
Our goal is to make education more constructive, meaningful, and high-quality. The bill’s main goal is to make it more comprehensive, he stated.
The Speaker expressed hope that the law’s full implementation will support Ogun’s education sector and maintain the state’s standing as one of the nation’s top educational destinations.
However, he emphasised the necessity for increased private sector involvement, pointing out that the government could not supply the enormous sums needed to properly fund education.
“Private individuals must also make a contribution. After all, after receiving an education, they will be the ones to inherit these individuals, Elemide stated.
Speaking as well, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, stated that the Trust Fund would pay for both formal and informal education, with a focus on skill development and career advancement.
He said that the fund would help vital areas including school infrastructure, bursaries, teacher support, and upkeep and offer an extra source of funding beyond the regular financial allotment.
Arigbabu explained, “In other words, we have put in place a mechanism to ensure that education can also still be funded through another source different from the normal budgetary allocation.”
The Commissioner clarified that the state had been functioning under an executive bill that the governor had signed three years prior, and that the House of Assembly’s approval of the legislation would strengthen the Trust Fund’s legal foundation.
He said that by re-engineering the conventional apprenticeship model, the bill would also make it easier to include informal education into the state’s educational system.
Arigbabu revealed that the state’s skill-development programs had so far taught almost 9,000 young people in a variety of occupations.
According to him, the Education and Skills Trust Fund will thus act as an extra source of funding for the industry, namely for the expansion of vocational training, informal education, and other skill-development initiatives throughout Ogun State.