Public primary schools have began to receive free textbooks and Teachers’ Guide in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, south-south Nigeria.
The free textbooks, Literacy and Numeracy, were distributed to some schools by the Cross River State Commissioner for Education, Professor Stephen Odey alongside top officials of the Ministry of Education.
In a brief remark prior to the distribution, Professor Odey, who was representing Governor Bassey Otu at the ceremony, said the textbooks were part of HOPE (Nigeria Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity) Governance Education Programme of the World Bank.
Odey explained that the programme, which is a $500 million World Bank-supported initiative, was aimed at strengthen basic education in Nigeria.
He said that the initiative aligned with Governor Otu’s ‘People First’ mantra and would guarantee access to quality education for every child in Cross River State.
He stated, “the Cross River State Government is committed to providing essential infrastructural facilities and instructional materials, including textbooks and other learning resources to improve teaching and learning in our schools.”
Odey further hinted that the distribution of the textbooks was part of the state government’s reforms to reposition public basic education for improved learning outcomes.
He described the initiative as a significant milestone for the current administration, reflecting the dedication to high educational standards.
He expressed profound appreciation to Governor Otu and the Nigerian President Bola Tinubu for the initiative, noting “this will go along way to enable children in our communities have access to free English and Arithmetics textbooks.
“We are started here in Calabar, the ministry will ensure these textbooks and Teachers’ Guide will be distributed to public primary schools across the 18 local government areas,” he said.
Continuing, the commissioner appealed, “I will urge the pupils and teachers to make good use of these textbooks. Please, do not year it, do not colour or damage it in anyway. It is our desire for every child in Cross River State to study and make good results so you can all have brighter future.”
To the teachers, Odey said, “this guide is coming at no cost to you, our dear teachers. This is part of Governor Bassey Edet Otu’s commitment to ensure that teachers have access to teaching materials. We are focused on quality education and to achieve quality, the relevant resources should be made available.
“This government will stop at nothing to ensure we give our children, like their counterparts else in the world, the standard basic education possible,” he stated.
The distribution of the textbooks to some pupils of a primary school in Calabar was greeted with gleeful smiles and thunderous applause as some of the children expressed delight over having two important textbooks for the first time.