Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has approved the allocation of ₦20 billion in the state’s supplementary budget to accelerate the overhaul of school infrastructure across the state.
The substantial funding commitment marks a renewed effort to deepen educational investment and expand on the administration’s ongoing school rehabilitation projects initiated since 2020. The move comes after the successful restoration of Kwara’s partnership with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), which had previously been suspended under past administrations due to issues of mismanagement.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Dr. Lawal Olohungbebe, the government confirmed that the planning process is already underway.
“His Excellency has instructed that we dedicate another ₦20 billion to school infrastructural upgrades. The process has started already. The designs are being made, and we will get down to this as soon as the supplementary budget is approved,” Olohungbebe said.
According to the commissioner, this latest intervention is not a one-off initiative but rather an extension of a sustained effort by the AbdulRazaq administration to transform learning environments across the state.
“Between 2019 and now, the administration has worked on more than 1,254 classrooms, in addition to several special interventions. We are proud to have implemented SUBEB-UBEC school intervention projects dating back to 2014, a feat that is unique to this administration,” he added.
The new wave of investment will also cover the construction and refurbishment of science laboratories, sanitation facilities, and other critical infrastructure, targeting underserved schools across Kwara’s 16 local government areas. It is intended to complement the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) ongoing programmes, which have recently included teacher recruitment, training, and digital literacy expansion.
Despite the improvements made so far, the government acknowledges existing infrastructure gaps in many public schools.
“We know there are still gaps. That’s why His Excellency has approved another special intervention to further close those gaps and ensure students have access to safe, conducive, and functional learning spaces,” Olohungbebe said.
Governor AbdulRazaq’s education agenda has drawn national attention in recent years for its consistent budgetary prioritisation of education. In 2023, Kwara State dedicated over 26% of its total budget to the education sector, one of the highest in the country in line with global recommendations by UNESCO.
