By Christiana Gokyo, Jos
The Plateau State Government has commissioned 19 hygiene operational vehicles and a 13-seater bus to strengthen supervision, distribution of materials, monitoring of School Improvement Plans and response efforts in remote communities across the state.
The government also unveiled a range of teaching and learning materials, including 296,765 core textbooks in Mathematics, English, Basic Science and Computer Studies, as well as 19,905 copies of curricula and teachers’ guides for Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE), primary and junior secondary school classes.
Other interventions include computers and tablets, 34,590 core textbooks provided under the 2025 intervention, and two pioneer smart classrooms equipped with 30 desktop computers each at LEA Primary School, Tudun Wada, and Pilot Science Primary School, Mangu.
The flag-off ceremony took place on Tuesday in Jos during the opening of a two-day capacity-building workshop for education stakeholders under the HOPE Education Programme.
Speaking at the occasion, Plateau State Governor, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, disclosed that more than 1,200 classrooms had been renovated across the state’s 17 Local Government Areas over the past three years.
Governor Mutfwang commended the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for clearing the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) counterpart funds for 2022 and 2023, placing Plateau among states that are up to date with their counterpart contributions.
He assured that the state was set to pay its 2026 counterpart fund, with a projected investment of more than N10 billion in basic education.
According to the governor, the intervention was aimed at strengthening learning from the foundation level, particularly primary education.
He noted that difficulties in basic literacy and language development could be traced to weaknesses at the foundational level.
Governor Mutfwang also urged SUBEB and the Ministry of Education to implement deliberate programmes to improve teachers’ capacity, particularly in English language delivery.
“We cannot have a mixture of rice and beans English in our classrooms. We are ready to support teachers to become a better version of themselves. We will push you to raise the bar to a basic minimum standard,” he said.
The governor warned officials to ensure that all educational materials, vehicles, laptops and tablets reach their intended destinations, stressing that they were public resources for which officials would be held accountable.
He also urged Education Secretaries in the 17 Local Government Areas to leave their offices and monitor schools directly.
On recruitment under the HOPE Education Programme, Governor Mutfwang said the government would prioritise rural postings and provide better incentives to encourage teachers to serve in underserved communities.
The Chairman of Partnership and Tracking at SUBEB, Hon. Bldr. Sunday Samuel Amuna, said development partners, including the Owondo Foundation and Keyword Enjuma Foundation, were supporting teacher training and the upgrading of ECCDE classrooms.
He added that SUBEB was also working with the Plateau State Sports Council to revive school sports.
The HOPE Project Coordinator, Mr. Aliyu Baba, linked the flag-off to broader achievements under the HOPE agenda, including the recruitment of 1,500 teachers, provision of solar-powered classrooms, revitalisation of 102 primary healthcare centres, enrolment of 160,000 people in health insurance and promotion of budget transparency across the 17 LGAs.
The correspondent reports that a two-day workshop on asset tracking and management was also launched as part of the programme, with emphasis on achieving measurable results rather than merely recording activities.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Ishaku Mareng Yobo, disclosed that the ministry would deploy monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to support the HOPE Education Trace and Track system.
He emphasised the urgency of the initiative, saying, “The time is now. Tomorrow is too late.”
