Mimiko Gets Award For Contribution To Mass Literacy
Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko has been named by the National Commission for Mass Literacy Adult and Non-Formal Education as a recipient of an Award of Excellence for his achievements and contributions to mass literacy in Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Alhaji Yusuf Paiko, disclosed this during the courtesy call of the management team of the commission to the governor in Akure, on Tuesday.
Alhaji Paiko, who was represented by Alhaji Musa Gusau, said that the commission nominated the Governor as a recipient of the award as a result of “his brilliant performance and great achievement in mass literacy delivery in the country.”
He said that the commission’s report for the year 2010 indicated that 56 million adults out of 160 million projected population in the country are illiterates, adding that the year 2012 report showed that 10.1 million children were out of school mostly from the northern part of the country.
Paiko also noted that the commission is making frantic effort to eradicate all the associated challenges of illiteracy through the launch of mass literacy campaign. He commended the Ondo state government for its determination to solve the problem of illiteracy and life-skills through the creation of the Ministry of Adult, Technical and Vocational Education which is second to none in Nigeria.
He also commended the government for the appointment of area mass literacy officers and increase in the monthly allowance of facilitators above the benchmark of N7,500.
Governor Olusegun Mimiko in his remarks, called for adequate investment in mass literacy programme as a panacea for peace, development and stability of the country.
He opined that if Nigeria must continue to enjoy peace and stability, governments at all levels must invest in education.
Mimiko, who gave kudos to President Goodluck Jonathan for according priority to Almajiris’ education in the northern part of the country, described mass literacy and skill acquisition as major instruments of development in any nation, noting that his administration has keyed into such philosophy to transform the socio-economic landscape of the state.
He added that his government has continued to carry the people along in the conception and implementation of people-oriented programmes, stressing that the creation of a substantive Ministry of Adult, Technical and Vocational Education was a deliberate attempt to focus on the sector for the development of the state.
He said: “Mass literacy is a cornerstone for us to achieve inclusive development in this country. We are only deceiving ourselves if we fail to democratize access to education. Our philosophical and ideological practice in this state is to develop our skill acquisition centres and make them functional. We are happy today that our investment has been yielding results. The same thing is applicable to our mass literacy programme.”