Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu
By PATRICK ABANG, Calabar –
The Cross State Government has flagged off annual secondary school census exercise for primary and post primary institutions operating in the state.
Flagging off the programme at the premises of the state ministry of education, Leopard Town Calabar, the state Commissioner for Education, Associate Prof. Stephen Odey, stated that the exercise would be compulsory for all public, private and technical schools in the state.
“We are calling on National Association of Proprietors of Private schools (NAPPS) , and indeed all stakeholder in the education sector to give their maximum support to the exercise.
“This exercise is compulsory for both public and private schools. We are calling on NUT, ANCORPS, all the executive secretaries, in all the eighteen local government areas.
“We are calling on all directors in the state ministry of education to give this exercise a very serious attention. We are calling on all the coordinating directors to give attention to the exercise.
“So that by the end of the exercise, we can beat our chest that Cross River now have the best data in education.
“This exercise have not call for anybody to start collecting money from anybody”, He said.
Also speaking, the Chief Operating Officer, Future -x Education, Adeyemi Adebayo, appealed to the education ministry to allow all schools– mushrooms or registered schools–to participate in the exercise so that state education ministry can generate a robust data.
He appealed to the state government not to exclude any child who is already in school notwithstanding whether the school attended by the child is a mushroom or approved school.
“You must take the census of children who are already in school serious, unfortunately in Nigeria, principals of senior secondary, junior public and primary schools when they go for annual data capturing.
“I want to plead with you that for those unapproved schools. For mushroom schools if there is no Demand there can be any supply. None should be excluded.
“We can support the state to make those mushroom schools become good schools. International organizations are looking for people from low income households to help. And we don’t have any data” he said.
