- FG to Spend N5bn on Security for 104 Unity Schools
The Federal Ministry of Education has set aside N5bn for the provision of “security infrastructure” in the country’s 104 Federal Government Colleges in 2018.
According to the breakdown in the proposed 2018 Executive Budget obtained by our correspondent, the fund will be used for the installation of Closed-Circuit Television Cameras and the construction of perimeter fencing around the schools.
Other items to be procured with the fund are solar-powered street lights and solar-powered motorised boreholes.
Our correspondent observed that the Federal Government also planned to spend N19m on the establishment of language clinics in all the schools, which it said would be a part of the National Language Policy.
Other expenses include capacity building for librarians in all the schools, which will gulp N6,652,000, as well as the physical assessment of their libraries, which will cost the ministry of education N6m.
The ministry will also expend N10m on the deployment of counsellors to tackle anti-social behaviour, such as drug-related issues, child labour and violence against children in the six geo-political zones in 2018.
Our correspondent noted that the government planned to evaluate 500 secondary schools in the six geo-political zones in 2018 and produce a report of the evaluation. Both actions will gulp N81,676,925.
The breakdown partly reads, “Item ERGP23103147 – Provision of Security infrastructure in 104 colleges: Perimeter fencing, solar street lights, solar powered motorised borehole and CCTV at N5,000,000,000. ItemERGP30103118 – Capacity building for 104 Federal Government Colleges Librarians at N6,652,000.
“Item ERGP30103122 – Physical assessment of FGCs libraries at N6,000,000. Item ERGP30102876 – Development of National Language Policy, establishing and equipping of Language Clinics in the 104 Unity Colleges at N19,000,000.”
Other projects in the line-up include the compilation and dissemination of skilled-based pupils textbooks for Classes 1 to 6, Junior Senior Secondary 1 to 3 and teachers’ manuals on nutrition education for schools which would cost over N10m.
