Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

Despite the face-off between the Federal Government and labour, which culminated in the closure of schools for many months this year, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, said that President Goodluck Jonathan had achieved a feat in the sector.

President Goodluck Jonathan casting his vote during the Special Convention at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

For that reason, the party said that it was proud of its numerous achievements in the education sector, particularly the record performance of President Jonathan in the sector in the last four years.

The party, which reviewed the gains and challenges of the sector against the performance of the current administration, urged Nigerians to vote for President Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election to guarantee the future of education in the country.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement, said that the party had in the last 15 years, progressively grown the education sector as a social instrument for national development and integration through vigorous implementation of broad-based policies in keeping with its manifesto and ideology.

It saluted Jonathan for accelerating the development of education at all levels in the last four years, boasting that “President Jonathan has not only repositioned the public school system but has also provided the enabling environment for greater participation of private individuals and agencies in the delivery of education services under government regulation.

“This is in addition to the massive rehabilitation and upgrade of Federal Government-owned schools as well as the three-pronged programmes of the Almajiri Education System, the first of its kind; the Girl-Child Education and Back-to-School programmes, all of which have drastically reduced the out-of-school children profile in the country, particularly in the North.

“The 150 Almajiri schools across the Northern states and the Out-of-School-Children Programme, including Specialised Boys and Girls Schools across the country, have given meaning to the lives of hitherto despaired children.

“Under Jonathan’s watch, enrolment in basic schools has increased from 23 million in 2010 to 29 million in 2012 and still growing. In the same vein, enrolment in colleges of education has increased from 620, 000 in 2011 to 750,000 in 2013. Also the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, established by the PDP is expanding to 250, 000 enrolments annually.

“To guarantee enhanced access to university education, President Jonathan established 14 new universities, nine in the northern states of Kogi, Taraba, Jigawa, Gombe, Nasarawa, Katsina, Yobe, Kebbi and Zamfara and three in the southern states of Ebonyi, Bayelsa and Ekiti, including two specialised police and maritime universities, thereby ensuring that all states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory have a federal university.

“Of course, the number of private primary, secondary and tertiary institutions has also doubled as a result of the education-friendly environment created by the PDP-led Federal Government. This is in addition to the establishment of new NCE-awarding institutions and upgrade of strategic polytechnics for enhanced service delivery in the country.”