Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, on Friday, said education remains the best possible investment in people.

He also said there is need to address the gap of the educational disadvantage heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Speaker said this at the official launch/flag off of the ‘Back to school jump start’ project.

The empowerment programme with theme: ‘No school left behind in Surulere, was initiated by the Office of the Speaker and funded by the National Lottery Trust Fund.

Over 40 Junior and Senior Secondary Schools in Surulere Federal Constituency will benefit from the intervention in the 1st Phase of the programme.

Gbajabiamila, who was represented by Rep Ademorin Kuye, said: “It gives me great joy to be at this unique event, to launch the Jump-Start Project, which aims to digitise the teaching and learning process, and inculcate a culture of basic hygiene in schools across the nation.

The reason for tagging the first leg of the Jump-Start project as “No School Left Behind in Surulere” is to address the widening of the educational disadvantage heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the health implications of the pandemic are all too obvious, its consequences for education are subtle but nonetheless devastating.

As off today, global statistics puts the number of deaths from COVID-19 at 6, 089,484. However, statistics are scarce as to how many children have dropped out of school due to the pandemic, especially in countries with developing economies. Even where learning seems to have continued uninterrupted, it is hard to evaluate the educational disadvantages stemming from inadequate infrastructure for virtual teaching. “For students in Nigerian public schools, the lockdown in 2020 was a huge academic setback.

Thus, the Jump-Start Project is designed to mitigate the disadvantage caused by the lack of digital infrastructure in public schools, as well as ensure that there are no breaks in teaching and learning in the event of future pandemics. Education is the best possible investment in people. It is the silver bullet that lifts people out of poverty, encourages a broader perspective that expands their world view and allows them to engage critically with the questions that determine the course of civilisation, innovation, and human progress.

“In this 21st century, the problems of poverty and war, of healthcare and climate change can only be solved by empowering the greatest number of people to independently seek knowledge and the confidence to challenge settled questions and pursue new approaches to solving old problems.

“As government, we are committed to building back a better and stronger educational system, which will be resistant to the eventualities of the new normal and personally, I am committed to improve the lives and livelihoods of my constituents through education.

A key to achieving this is the normalisation of digital learning and personal sanitation in public schools. Nigeria, and indeed Africa, has been short-changed by the roll-over effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, if the Jump-Start objectives are achieved, we would have taken advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to matched up with global educational facilitation.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the National Lottery Trust Fund for buying into the vision of my Office by supporting the Jump-Start Project. As you are aware, the project should span the 6 Geopolitical-Zones, and it is our fervent wish that the National Lottery Trust Fund will support the project to achieve this objective and achieve our goals. I also salute the efforts of the planning committee.

“As we gather, let me remind us that we have come here today to provide the young people of Surulere with the material resources to help them have a better education experience because there is no more important assignment than ensuring our young people have access to good education. This is keeping with my commitment to my constituents to use the machinery and resources of government to provide quality education that empowers the younger generation and sets them up for success. Indeed, ‘no school is left behind in Surulere’ in this time of digital learning.

I welcome you all once more, and I thank you most sincerely for being here today.”

Why we funded Back to School Jump Start Project—NLTF

Earlier, Mr Yusuf Tegina who spoke on behalf of the National Lottery Trust Fund, explained why it funded the Back to School Jump Start Project.

Tijani said: “The programme which seeks to help improve the current capacity of schools in the area of good hygiene practice through the provision of basic sanitary and standard modern teaching and learning aid such as laptops, smart tablet fitted e-books for promoting standard in tandem with global best practice.

“Let me also congratulate the 46 benefiting schools in this initial phase of the project and to also re-affirm our commitment to supporting its continuation across the six geo-political zones of the country, though the processes leading to today’s event has not been easy, starting with a thorough review of the submission and a subsequent needs assessment visits by the agency’s team to the selected public schools here in Surulere-Lagos, where it was well established that the provision of this basic instructional and sanitary materials is justified and will without doubt support and provide a conducive atmosphere for learning across the public schools, this became the basis for securing the approval for this unconditional grant to be judiciously utilized and applied by ‘She Foundation’ from the Management and Board of Trustees of the Trust Fund and then subsequently the Ministerial Tenders Board on behalf of the President.

“As you are well aware, the National Lottery Trust Fund is an agency of the Federal Government established under section 35 of the National Lottery Act, 2005. Its mandate is to take custody of 20% of the net proceeds of all national lottery and gaming operations in Nigeria for the execution of good cause projects across the country for the benefit and wellbeing of the citizens of the country.

“In fulfillment of its mandate as an intervention agency established to promote the well-being of the people of our beloved nation through its various good cause projects, the government deem it necessary to provide unconditional grant to ‘She Foundation’ through lottery good cause to facilitate this project which we are all here gathered to launch. Interestingly, later today the Trust Fund will also be commissioning vital medical equipment donated to Gbaja Randle Hospital Mother and Child Care General Hospital to consolidate on the vital medical equipment earlier donated to Onikan Healthcare Center few months ago. Similarly, efforts are also ongoing to ensure completion/commissioning of vital medical equipment to General Hospitals Gbagada, Ikene-Remo, Igbora, Ogbomoso, Surulere, Iresa all in the south-west and others across the six geo-political zones of the country.

“The decision by the Federal Government to establish the National Lottery Trust Fund is indicative of a government that recognizes the importance of lottery and gaming as a vehicle in enhancing the social wellbeing of its citizenry through investments in its various lottery good cause intervention projects that are creative, relevant, timely, realistic and economically sustainable with visible practical benefits to society and to continue to do so in a balanced, transparent and cost-effective manner.