Implement Akwa Ibom Education Roadmap Now – International Activist Nnimmo Bassey Tells Governor Umo Eno 

The Internationally recognized human and environmental rights activist, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey has called on the Governor of Akwa Ibom State to implement the Akwa Ibom State Education Roadmap 2020-2030.

Akwa Ibom State Education Roadmap policy document is a 10-year plan aimed at transforming the State’s education system to meet the challenges of the 21st century and beyond, particularly the fourth Industrial Revolution. It focuses on lifelong learning, quality education, and aligning the educational system with the state’s socio-economic growth. The roadmap was developed by a think-tank committee headed by Prof. Hillary Inyang following an education summit in 2019.

Speaking on Saturday in Uyo during the Class 1975 Golden Jubilee Anniversary and Reunion of his Holy Trinity College, HOTRICO, Mbiakong, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey who is the Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation ( HOMEF) in his keynote Presentation on the theme ” Schooled and Educated” highlighted the key challenge facing education in Akwa Ibom State as lack of implementation of the education roadmap and poor funding of the sector.

Bassey, who is holding the National Honour of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR), the Alternative Nobel Prize and Raoul Wallenberg Medal from the University of Michigan, USA said that the absence of an education sector plan is more than an administrative gap, but a systematic barrier to sustainable educational development.

Referencing the foreword to the Roadmap by Ex-Governor, Udom Emmanuel who described it as “the most detailed and comprehensive review and design of systems for reform of an educational system in Nigeria since Independence as it covers the tripod of educational system improvement: physical infrastructure; equipment and

furnishing; and programmes and processes”, Bassey wondered why the Udom Emmanuel’s administration and the Umo Eno’s administration is yet to implement the road map five years after it was produced.

He insisted that implementing the roadmap will help the government transition in the State’s skill set from current domination by petty trading (32%), manual agriculture (29%) and hospitality (6.8%) to advanced manufacturing, ICT, advanced energy systems, digital agriculture, indigenous knowledge systems.

Bassey said implementing the roadmap will help the government improve teacher recruitment and welfare programmes, provide incentives for good performances, curb indiscipline, and equip tertiary institutions to improve their teaching capacities and research productivity to generate data, models and systems for support of the socio-economic development programs of Akwa Ibom State, Niger and the larger global community.

Bassey further called on the government of Akwa Ibom State to improve the budgetary provisions and releases for the education sector in the State.

Referencing data from the Akwa Ibom State 2025 Approved Budget and 2024 Revised Budget, the Director of HOMEF said that with the total 2025 education budget of N59.96bn against N68.8bn, there is 12.9 percent decrease in the budget of education.

He decried that the capital budget of 2025 decreased significantly by 42.2 percent decrease as N14.6bn was voted in 2025 against N25.27bn in 2024.

Bassey pointed out that the overhead releases to primary and secondary schools expose why pupils and students in public schools still pay tuition fees among other charges despite the government’s claim that education is free.

He highlighted that according to the 2024 full year budget performance report, N143.18m against a budget of N5.59bn (15.8% performance) was released to State Universal Basic Education. HOMEF Director said when that amount is shared to 1164 primary schools, it implies that each primary school received N123,009 for a year and N10,250 a month for the day to day running of the school even as this calculation exempts what SUBEB offices may have taken as its overhead cost.