Abia State Governor, Alex Otti has come up with an intiative to transform the education sector so that Abia children would be prepared to fit into the emerging new age where science, technology ans artificial intelligence(AI) would dominate every aspect of living.
Otti wants to achieve this with the Abia Fostering Innovation Reform School Transformation (AbiaFIRST), an initiative aimed at providing intentional quality education in the state.
He launched the AbiaFIRST programme and its logo on February 26, 2025 at the Indternational Conference Centre, Umuahia, saying that he believes in the transformative power of education to prepare Abia children for the future.
The Abia Governor explained that the programme constitute the fulcrum of his transformational governance initiative for the rapid socioeconomic development of the state.
“AbiaFIRST Transformation Education programme is focused on strategic initiatives aimed at transforming the education sector in the State through sustained investments,” he said.
According to him, the investments in education would be channelled to “development of school infrastructure, training and retraining of teachers on new trends, recruitment of quality teachers to cater for the rise in enrollment figures in our public schools”.
Otti said that his administration has “re-taken the initiative to lead the charge in qualitative education of our young people through our multi-level learning institutions”.
“Never again will the Government play second fiddle with the education sector as we shall lead from the front in terms of investments in infrastructure, recruitment of the best to teach and educate our children and personnel renumeration,” he said.
Otti stated that the benefits of investing in education cannot be quantified hence “we have learnt from the development strides of other nations (that such investment) is no longer optional but a consistently general outlay”.
He noted that massive investment in education “has become a prerequisite for the achievement of the aspirations of any society” and Abia would not be found wanting in giving the best to its children.
“Abia Government shall spare nothing to prepare the Abia child for the emerging New Age,” he vowed.
The Abia Governor said he was satisfied that the State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education was living up to expectations in achieving his vision for the education sector, which is central to his development agenda.
Earlier in his address, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Elder Goodluck Ubochi explained that the AbiaFIRST initiative was not just about improving individual schools but a holistic reform of education in Abia State.
He said the transformation of education revolves around the innovative solutions that government being introduced by government, including digital learning platforms and wholesome curriculum framework.
Other key elements are professional development of teachers, technical and vocational education, monitoring and evaluation system and Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM).
The team lead of the Education Reform and Innovation Team (ERIT), Mrs. Abolaji Osimen, said that the team consists of 180 professionals specializing in areas such as educational echnology, technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
She stressed the urgent need to tackle the inadequacies of Nigeria’s education system, insisting that “we must either address our learning crisis now or risk creating the future with an under skilled population”.
“Our choice today will determine whether Nigeria emerges as a dynamic economy with a highly skilled workforce or faces the challenge of wide spread unemployment, increase crime, and economic stagnation,” Osime said.
Development partners were on hand to give backing to Otti’s education transformation initiave. World Bank, UNESCO, and British Council Office, Abuja all sent representatives and goodwill messages at the AbiaFIRST launch.