FG distributes 14m textbooks to schools to raise education quality

Professor Ruqqayattu Ahmed Rufai is the incumbent minister of Education.


The Federal
Government on
Thursday in Abuja
began the distribution
of 14 million textbooks
and Library Resource
Materials to primary
and junior secondary
schools across the                          
country.


Primaries one and two
received the textbooks
for English Language,
Mathematics, Social
Studies and Basic
Science and
Technology, while the
junior secondary
schools received
Library Resources
Materials.


Speaking at the event,
President Goodluck
Jonathan urged
stakeholders in the
country’s education
sector to support
government at all
levels in the provision
of a solid foundation
for quality education.
Jonathan, who was
represented by Vice-
President Namadi
Sambo, said
government was
determined to deal
with the challenges in
Nigeria’s education
sector.

“All the stakeholders in
the book and
instructional materials
chain, including
researchers, who
produce the textbooks;
pupils and teachers,
who utilise these
materials; as well as
parents, who exercise
tremendous influence
on the educational
process, must
adequately understand
the inextricable linkage
between the three
components.

“I, therefore, call on all
stakeholders to
support government at
all levels, to ensure
that our education
sector, particularly the
basic education sub-
sector, provides the
solid foundation for
quality education in
Nigeria.

“We must do all we
can to ensure that
textbooks and
instructional materials
bring added value to
our educational
process. There is no
better opportunity to
make this clarion call
than this very
important event.”

Jonathan said the
distribution exercise
was part of efforts by
the government to
encourage
collaborators and
stakeholders in the
joint efforts to improve
the quality of
education in the
country.

He said that the
procurement of the
items had been an
important feature of
the government’s basic
education delivery
system.
According to him,
government’s goal has
always been to
strengthen
complementary
interventions in the
provision of quality
programmes that will
pave the way for
acceptable standards of
basic education output.

The President
expressed the hope
that government’s
current financial
investment, and the
ongoing structural,
institutional and
governance reforms in
the sectors would
reverse the declining
trend in the quality of
education.

In her remark, the
Minister of Education,
Prof Ruqayyatu Rufa’i,
disclosed that N16.6
billion was spent in the
provision of textbooks
and library resource
materials for pupils in
schools across the
country.
She said the
distribution of the
instructional materials
was part of
government’s four year
strategic plan aimed at
improving the quality
of education.

Rufa’i, who stressed
the importance of the
instructional materials
to the success of any
education policy,
tasked the Universal
Basic Education
Commission to track
the movement and
usage of the books.

Goodwill messages
were delivered at the
event by Chairman,
House of
Representative
Committee on
Education, Alhaji
Farouk Lawan and
Chairman, Senate
Committee on
Education, Mr Uche
Chukwu-Meriji. (NAN)