Education: Kwara sets record, pays students to remain in school,boosts enrollment, academic performance 

That is as far as that is concerned in the state. The governor did not wait in all the areas we were supposed to pay. Everything was paid between 2019 and 2020, we paid from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 between 2019 and 2020, and we were able to assess the grant. So we started building. I can remember the first set of infrastructural intervention. We had about 600 schools in the state. And since then, we have paid our own counterpart fund till the last quarter of 2025.The deployment of teachers to schools was a problem. There was a huge concentration of teachers in urban areas while other areas lacked teachers. What was being taught in Ilorin was not the same thing that was being taught in other parts of the state. So the students in Ilorin were progressing well, while others were lagging behind, until the governor came and we came up with what we call Kwara LEARN.Through Kwara LEARN, we are able to ensure, up till this morning, that what is taught in Ilorin is the same thing that is taught in Baruten, Offa and every other part of the state, and by every teacher in 1603 primary schools. Every teacher has his own Tab, and that Tab tells you the curriculum, the lesson notes. This is what is to be taught today, and you have access to it like a week before then so you can review, and prepare well. You can localize it in such a way that the students will understand it better.The moment you enter the class, what you have on your Tab is the same thing that other teachers across the state also have in their own tabs. That is what will be taught. It also gives us the opportunity to monitor who gets to the class and when, because it gives us real time feedback from the teacher – whether he’s in the class now or he just got to the class and when he leaves. Everything will be recorded, because the moment you put on your tab in that class with GPS, we have the coordinate and every other thing to know where you are when you open it, and the number of students in the class, and every other thing.Kwara LEARN gives me the opportunity, as the Commissioner, to be able to interact with the teachers directly. I know who is in the class. If I click on your own school, I know who is there and who is not there.

And how has that impacted on the pupils?Before we came on board, you hardly heard anything like pupils going for competitions or debates. I am happy to tell you that we won the President debate that is normally organized for pupils and students in the primary, Junior secondary and senior secondary schools in Nigeria. We won in 2022, in 2023 and 2024. In fact we are the current champions. Two months ago we were in Malaysia to represent Nigeria, and we won in the whole world. Our senior students were in Abeokuta a few months ago, they came first in the whole of Nigeria. They are on their way to Kenya to represent Nigeria. They will be there by April 20 or so. So that’s where we are now, and I will be so proud to tell you that all the four students who are going to Kenya to represent Nigeria are from public schools in Ilorin, in Offa. It shows that we are achieving what we set out to achieve. We are better ranked now in both WAEC and NECO.

How are the teachers coping with modern trends?We started by ensuring that the recruitment exercise was right, ensuring that the teachers are technologically inclined. Now, let me explain the recruitment exercise, the way we have changed it from what it used to be. Before we came on board, people would sit down in the comfort of their rooms and they would give them appointment letters. But when the governor came on board, we introduced a very rigorous process. In the last recruitment that was done, only 11,000 out of 29,000 applicants that applied were successful. The 11,000 were still invited to write a computer based test, CBT, to be sure that they are actually literate, as far as computers are concerned. So, after the examination, 9,000 came out of 11,000. About 5,400 did very well. We did not stop at that. We now invited 5,400 for an interview. And the interview was not like a one-on-one interview. They were asked to demonstrate how to teach. We told them, let us see how you’re going to teach, that’s the chalk, that’s the board, let’s see what goes on. And after everything, we were able to pick 1,900 amongst them to be recruited. It did not stop at that. We carried out a drug test for them. The governor paid for it to ensure that they were not involved in abusing drugs because we cannot afford to leave our children in the hands of a drug addict or drug user. So, that gave us the opportunity to ensure that even if we want to train them, they are trainable. We keep training them. Two months ago they did AI training, how to use AI to generate questions, how to use AI to set questions for their pupils and every other thing.

Still about infrastructure, what’s the number of schools you have built or renovated since you came on board?As far as classrooms are concerned, we have done 1,995 classrooms, and we are currently working on 149 schools as of this morning. So already 1,995 classrooms have been added to what we met on the ground.

Can you speak on student enrollment?When we came on board, we discovered that there were more boys in the schools than the girls. So we knew there had to be an intervention. That was why we keyed into Adult Girls Initiative Learning and Empowerment( AGILE), a World Bank intervention to ensure that more girls are more enrolled. One of the components of AGILE is to start paying them stipends even while in school. So our girls in GSS One and SS One earn nothing less than 40,000 Naira per term. This is because most of the parents will tell you, no, they have to go and hawk so that we can get money. So, we said, let them come to school where they will also earn money.

You pay girl students to come to school?Yes, we pay them, GSS One and SS One. Now we are compiling names from GSS One and SS One. We’ll give you their names. We pay the students, you can interview some of the parents, if you have the time.

That is unbelievable, just to ensure that they keep coming to school?Yes. They will get the money from GSS One to GSS Three. We are collating another 10,000. The last one we did was 32,000. Now we are doing 10,000 to ensure enrollment increases.

Has there been any improvement as a result of this development?Yes, significantly, sir. But I don’t have the data at hand. Yes, we pay them 40,000 Naira per term.

Finally, talking about the reforms under Abdulrahman, how would you describe the legacies that he’s leaving?Honestly speaking, our greatest legacy as far as education is concerned, is our style of teachers’ recruitment. The moment you get that right every other thing will be okay. That’s the greatest legacy. For those who know what they are doing, those guys are motivating them. So if we build classrooms and there are no qualified teachers, we are going to be having issues. So our biggest legacy as far as education is concerned is our style of teachers’ recruitment, because the moment we get that right, that’s the key.

How has insecurity affected education in the state?Significantly, because at a point we had to close down schools in 10 local government areas. We did that for so many weeks. While other local government areas were learning, the children in those 10 local government areas were regrettably at home. We were not happy about that. We are still not happy about it. However, we have opened all the schools, but in some areas where we had these issues, some parents have not had the courage yet to allow their children to go to school. We thought it was going to affect our registration, enrollment for WAEC but it did not. Last year, we registered about 24,000 for WAEC. This year, we had about the same number. The governor assisted the ministry to reach out to the parents to ensure registration. And we also reached out to WAEC to extend the time for us so that we can get more of them enrolled.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN TERTIARY EDUCATION Infrastructure Development• Massive rehabilitation and upgrade of facilities across Kwara State-owned tertiary institutions, including the Kwara State University (KWASU), Kwara State University of Education (KWASUED); Kwara State Polytechnic; Colleges of Education (Ilorin, Oro, and Lafiagi); the Colleges of Nursing Sciences (Ilorin and Oke-Ode); College of Health Technology, Offa; College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS), Ilorin; Kwara State Aviation College, Ilorin and International Vocational Technology Education Centre (IVTEC), Ajase-Ipo.• Construction and equipping of lecture halls, laboratories, libraries, and hostels to improve the learning environment.• Installation of modern ICT infrastructure to support digital learning and administrative efficiency.• Provision of new office complexes and renovation of existing buildings to enhance staff productivity. Access and Scholarship Programmes• Expansion of scholarship and bursary programmes to support indigenous students across federal and state tertiary institutions.• Financial support for students in specialized fields such as aviation, health sciences, engineering, and technology.• Strengthened partnership with the Kwara State Scholarship Board to ensure transparency and merit-based disbursement.

Curriculum Expansion and Accreditation• Accreditation and re-accreditation of academic programmes across tertiary institutions, ensuring compliance with national standards.• Introduction of new academic programmes at the Kwara State University and Kwara Polytechnic to meet emerging economic and industrial needs.• Support for Colleges of Education to develop competency-based teacher education programmes. Digital Transformation and Innovation• Implementation of e-learning platforms and ICT-driven administrative systems across tertiary institutions.• Capacity building for academic and non-academic staff on digital pedagogy and data management.• Introduction of technology-enhanced teaching and virtual learning platforms to expand access beyond the classroom. Research, Development, and Partnerships• Support for collaborative research between state tertiary institutions and development partners.• Encouragement of innovation-driven projects and participation in national academic research programmes.• Facilitation of linkages between academia and industries to promote applied research and entrepreneurship.

Human Capital Development• Continuous professional development programmes for lecturers and administrative staff.• Recruitment of qualified academic personnel to strengthen teaching quality.• Sponsorship of staff for local and international training to improve technical and managerial competencies.

Institutional Autonomy and Governance Reforms• Strengthening of institutional governance frameworks to enhance accountability and performance.• Introduction of performance-based monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.• Promotion of gender inclusivity and ethical standards within tertiary institutions.

Impact and OutcomesThe cumulative impact of these initiatives has transformed the tertiary education landscape in Kwara State. Institutions now boast improved learning environments, higher student enrollment, increased programme accreditation, and enhanced staff welfare.Kwara’s tertiary institutions have also witnessed greater public confidence, improved academic performance, and growing recognition as centers of excellence for research, innovation, and community development.