By Tony Adibe
Excited principals and teachers of secondary schools in Enugu State, under the Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB), converged at the Government House, Enugu, to celebrate, and appreciate Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the exceptional attention his administration has paid to their wellbeing and the education sector in the state.
The teachers emphasised that Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration has been regular in the payment of their salaries unlike some states in the country and has carried out various sterling reforms in the education sector that have repositioned the sector and earned Enugu State laurels within and outside the country.
The teachers said that they are happy about the governor’s remarkable achievements in the education sector and other sectors across the state, despite the state’s lean resources and the challenges bedeviling the country since he assumed office.
They passed a vote of confidence in Gov. Ugwuanyi and assured him of their unalloyed support and votes at the poll to represent Enugu North Senatorial District in the National Assembly in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Led by the new Chairman of PPSMB, Dr. Mrs. Favour Ugwuanyi, the principals and teachers told the governor that they are strongly behind the choice of Barr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election, assuring him that they will also vote for Barr. Mbah, his running mate, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, and all other PDP candidates in the state.
Expressing more gratitude to Gov. Ugwuanyi for reconstituting the PPSMB and bringing in intellectuals with proven track records, the principals and teachers disclosed that their positive impact is already being witnessed in the state’s education sector.
On his part, the Chairman, Enugu State Association of Nigerian Conference of Principals of Schools (ANCOPS), Mr. Robert Okolie, maintained that the recent ranking of Enugu State as first among public secondary schools in Nigeria that presented candidates for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examination in 2021 was as a result of Gov. Ugwuanyi administration’s investment in the education sector.
The ANCOPS Chairman thanked Gov. Ugwuanyi for his commitment to quality education and the teachers’ wellbeing, adding: “We wish you good luck. We are assuring you that all the candidates of the PDP should go and prepare for their electoral victory celebrations”.
Describing Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration as an “Education-friendly administration,” the PPSMB Head of Department (HOD), Central Registry, Mrs. Joy Agbara, stated that the governor’s good work in the education sector is enormous, pointing out that they include conversion of teachers, payment of inherited promotion arrears, recruitment of 1,000 teachers, renovation and construction of classroom blocks, provision of modern learning tools, such as computers, laboratory equipment as well as instructional materials, among others.
Speaking further she said: “Your Excellency, we have never had it this good. That is part of the secret of what you are seeing today. If you look at our schools, there was a time that if you enter our schools the environment was nothing to write home about but now the environment is friendly for teaching and learning. You have given it to Enugu State.
“Our students came out with good grades in JAMB and WAEC. Our students are ICT-compliant, among other achievements.”
Endorsing their stance, the Chairman of PPSMB, Dr. Mrs. Ugwuanyi, informed Gov. Ugwuanyi that the joy on the faces of the teachers was borne out of their conviction that the governor has done so well for them.
She used the opportunity to express gratitude to the governor for sending her to National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Jos, for training and appointing her the Chairman of PPSMB as well as giving her, people of integrity and intellectual prowess to work with as members of the Board.
The Board Chairman equally commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for setting an unprecedented national record in training 55 Directors and Permanent Secretaries at NIPPS, stressing that no state in Nigeria has done so
