Kwara Must Change (KMC), a pro Democracy group in Kwara State, has described claims by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, that he introduced model reforms in education during tenure as state governor as ‘false and fraudulent’.
The group, in a statement sent to DAILY POST by its spokesman, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, on Sunday, recounted some of the weaknesses in the education space reportedly witnessed under Saraki’s watch as boss of the Kwara State government for eight years.
Last Friday, Saraki applauded the federal government for sharing his decade-old vision for education reform, which he claimed was initiated to resuscitate public education in Kwara State.
He then went on to call on other states across the nation to study and emulate the Kwara State model, while also commending his successor, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, for sustaining the model.
Reacting, Kwara Must Change said: “It was surprising to read with utmost dismay, the fraudulent claim by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki over the state of education in Kwara State in which he claimed that he initiated a policy to advance education in the state.
“He was said to have applauded the federal government for sharing his decade-old vision for education reform, which he claimed was initiated to resuscitate public education in Kwara State.
“Kwara Must Change viewed this claim as the greatest fraud of the 21st century. Apart from the fact that this claim is out rightly false, we find it difficult to understand why a man who destroyed our education and dragged it 20 years backward would feel so confident to tell an obvious lie before the public, to an extent that he is laying claim to a none existing policy with zero effect in Kwara State.
“Let it be clear that, in Saraki’s 8 years tenure as governor of Kwara State, he didn’t not build single school; neither did he do anything reasonable to improve the education system.
“This explains why we have student’s learning under tree in Kwara State today and certainly, this is not something to be proud of or something to recommend to others, as no reasonable government would be willing to copy a system that is aimed at taking us back to the Stone Age.
The group observed that due to the negligence of the government, reputable schools that have produced a lot of important personalities in Kwara State have become the options for poor and vulnerable Kwarans, who cannot afford to pay the fees of private schools.
It also called on the state government to declare a state of emergency in its education sector.
“It is a shame that, while civil society organizations in the state are calling for the declaration of state of emergency in Kwara State education sector, Mr Saraki is busy claiming none existing glory for imaginary policy he claimed to have initiated,” the statement added.
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