Principals of public secondary schools in Oyo State have commended the state government for earmarking 30 per cent of the state’s 2014 budget to education sector. The state President of All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), Mrs. Olufunmilayo Ojoawo who gave the commendation while speaking at the investiture of the state Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi as the Grand Patron of the organization, said that the state government particularly deserved commendation as the budgetary allocation to education was above the United Nations recommended 26 per cent for education.

She said that the honour bestowed on the governor by the Principals was aimed at appreciating his efforts at providing quality education as well as the several welfare packages which the teachers in the state had enjoyed.

Ajimobi while speaking at the occasion, said that committing a large chunk of the budget to education was a fulfilment of his dream and aspirations for the education sector. ``We decided to give 30 per cent allocation to education because for us, education is what drives the world; it is what make the difference from one generation to the other,’’ he said, stressing that he decided to support the school principals because of the importance he attached to their duties as important elements in the development of a child.

The governor, who pledged to reposition the education sector and make the lives of teachers an enviable one, said that this had accounted for the 30 per cent allocation to the sector in the 2014 budget. He also said that his administration was now set to introduce e-learning into the state educational system. He said that the e-learning system was part of his administration’s comprehensive plan to reform the education sector in the state. The governor said that government had entered into partnership with some foreign agencies on the project, adding that the e-learning equipment had already been installed in some secondary schools in the state.

Governor Ajimobi urged teachers in public schools in the state to go for computer training so as not to be left behind by the revolution that would soon occur in the education sector. He also said that within the next three months, mass rehabilitation of school buildings would be carried out, while the general teaching environment would be improved upon and furniture supplied to public schools.

Governor Ajimobi directed the teachers to work closely with relevant parastatals in the education sector in fashioning out structured training programmes for teachers across the state ``so that they can be one of the best in the country.’’