The Kogi Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Wemi Jones, has urged all heads of institutions in the state to intensify action in eradicating cultism in schools as directed by His Excellency, Gov. Yahaya Bello.
The commissioner gave the charge at the maiden meeting he held with all the relevant stakeholders in education on Tuesday in Lokoja.
”We have to wipe out cultism in our institutions because no matter what good plans we have it will never be realised in an unsecured environment,” he said.
He noted that the governor had in a meeting with heads of tertiary institutions in the state, was emphatical about insecurity in tertiary institutions, and directed that cultism should be wiped out totally from all institutions in Kogi by Feb. 29, 2020.
”I pray that God will give the heads of tertiary institutions in Kogi and by extension other levels of education, the grace and the capacity to wipe out cultism in their various institutions.
”It is very clear that you cannot build anything in an unsecured environment, so all our institutions are to ensure that they comply fully to the directive of the governor”, he said
Jones said that the purpose of the meeting was to interact with all the relevant stakeholders and brainstorm on how to take education to a greater height in Kogi State, saying the meeting would be a continuous process.
”Whatever we do, if we do not educate ourselves we will get back to zero level in the area of insecurity, crime and other devices. We can only build a sustainable economy on an educated populace.
”Our door is widely opened, we are taking education to the next level and we will need all hands on deck; we will need suggestions and ideas from every stakeholder on how to move the sector forward.
The Commissioner commended the stakeholders for attending the meeting, assuring them of the commitment of the state government to delivering quality education for the people of Kogi State.
Speaking, the Deputy Vice Chancelor (DVC) Administration, Kogi State University (KSU), Prof. Tai Oluwagbemi, said the school authority has been intensifying effort to ensure a secure environment in the university community and its environ.
According to him, the management of KSU are already putting the machinery in place as directed by the governor to ensure that security is entrenched in our campuses and stamp out cultism in the institution.
He added that they were also collaborating with the security agencies, religious leaders, traditional and community leaders, parents and students to ensure that cultism was totally wiped out from the institution as directed by the governor.
”We are taking the directive from the governor very seriously and we are working towards terminating cultism from our school, because it is also of great concern to us due to the image of the institution. So, we are out to rebrand the image of the university”, Oluwagbemi said.
On her part, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University Lokoja (FUL), Prof. Angela Miri, thanked the Commissioner for convening the meeting, saying it would enable effective collaborations and development in the sector.
”The management of FUL look forward to such stakeholders meeting from time to time to fostering collaborations among stakeholders in Kogi education sector,” she said.
In his vote of thanks, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Eric Aina, urged all the stakeholders to officially document their various requests and forward same to the Ministry for necessary action.
Other stakeholders present at the meeting were: Registrar, Kogi State Polytechnic; Provosts of all Colleges of Education in Kogi, and Rector, Prime Polytechnic.
Others were ANCOPPS, TRCN, NTI, NUT; TUC, ASSUS, FMoE, STETSCOM, ANNFE, Director, State Library, Nigeria-,Korean Friendship Institute; among others.
The stakeholders in their separate goodwill messages, congratulated the Commissioner for his appointment, assuring him of their loyalty and support, that their cooperation would be unalloyed, and prayed God to give him wisdom in his new assignment.