by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
About 19 hygiene operational vehicles and a 13-seater bus have been commissioned to strengthen supervision, distribution of materials, monitoring of School Improvement Plans, and response in remote communities in Plateau State by the Plateau State Government.
Other Teaching and Learning Materials include: 296,765 core textbooks in Mathematics, English, Basic Science and Computer Studies, plus 19,905 copies of curriculum and teachers’ guides for ECCDE, Primary and JSS classes, Digital tools, Computers, tablets and 34,590 core textbooks under the 2025 intervention, plus 2 pioneer smart classrooms with 30 desktops each, at LEA Primary School Tudun Wada and Pilot Science Primary School Mangu.
The flagging-off Program also was during the commencement of a 2-day capacity building workshop for education stakeholders under the HOPE Education Program on Tuesday in Jos.
Speaking during the occasion, the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, disclosed that over 1,200 classrooms have been renovated across the 17 Local Government Areas of the State in the last three years.
The governor commended the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for clearing UBEC counterpart funds for 2022 and 2023, placing Plateau State among states that are up to date, assuring that the state is set to pay the 2026 counterpart fund, with a projected investment of over ₦10 billion in basic education.
According to him, the intervention was aimed at fixing learning from the foundation, which will start from primary school, adding that, if a child cannot distinguish between ease and worse, the problem started at the foundation level.
The governor also urged SUBEB and the Ministry of Education to run what he termed as a “deliberate program” – to improve teachers’ English (Language) delivery.
“We cannot have mixture of ‘rice and beans’ English in our classrooms. We are ready to support teachers to become better versions of themselves. We will push you to raise the bar to a basic minimum standard,” he disclosed.
Governor Mutfwang warned that they should ensure that every material, vehicle, laptop, tablet reaches its intended destination, and to know that all these are public resources and will be accountable for.
He urged the Education Secretaries in the 17 Local Government Areas to leave their desks and monitor schools directly. On recruitment under HOPE Education, he added that, that they will prioritize rural postings with better incentives.
In the same vein, Chairman Partnership and Tracking SUBEB, Hon. Bldr. Sunday Samuel Amuna, explained that the partners, including Owondo Foundation and Keyword Enjuma Foundation, are supporting teacher training and ECCDE classroom upgrades, saying, “SUBEB is also working with the Plateau State Sports Council to revive school sports.”
The HOPE Project Coordinator, Mr. Aliyu Baba, linked the flag-off to wider HOPE agenda gains: recruitment of 1,500 teachers, solar-powered classrooms, revitalization of 102 PHCs, enrollment of 160,000 people into health insurance, and budget transparency across all 17 LGAs.
Our Correspondent reports that a 2-day workshop on “asset tracking management” was also launched and will focus on results, not just activities.
Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Ishaku Mareng Yobo, disclosed that the Ministry will deploy monitoring and evaluation to support HOPE Educations Trace and Track system, adding that, “The time is now; tomorrow is too late.”