By Lubem Gena
The Benue state government has concluded plans to establish fifteen (15) pilot SMART schools and eleven (11) technical colleges across the state in no distant time.
The Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, Rev. Dr. Frederick Ikyaan disclosed this in his office in Makurdi on Tuesday, 8th April, 2025 while answering questions from newsmen.
Mr. Akaha Sule, the media aide in a press release obtained by News Headquarters said Rev. Ikyaan also announced that government wants to build standard Model schools to serve as a reference for others to follow while lamenting the level of infrastructural decay in mostly public schools in the state.
He said the state government under the leadership of Governor Hyacinth Alia is committed to skills acquisition which is why she wants to establish 11 technical colleges in the 11 federal constituencies of the state.
Rev. Ikyaan stressed the need for technical and vocational education while announcing the relocation of Benue state University technical school and give it more visibility for greater impact.
While giving insight on the issue of school census, the Commissioner stated that the computerization of data, will help government to know the exact number of schools, students and teachers and also eliminate falsifying of age and other records.
The Commissioner said the free registration of WAEC, NECO and NABTEB was from federal government palliative which has not come again and so government cannot continue with the gesture due to lack of resources.
On the security situation in the state, the Commissioner said, government is committed to the security and safety of learners and has keyed into the safe school model in collaboration with Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC) with the building of Rapid Response Center which is over seventy percent completed.
He maintained that training and retraining of teachers has been prioritized in various areas including security and Artificial intelligence (AI) as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), adding that Huawei is to establish an ICT academy in BSU, Makurdi for proper training and certification.
Currently, government is training 2000 teachers in both public and private schools across the state in artificial intelligence free of charge.
