Nasarawa State House of Assembly has on Tuesday 17th September, 2024 passed into law an Executive Bill on Education Department Trust Fund and restated its continued commitment to support any executive bill that will address the plight of citizens and enhance development in the State.
This, the House said, considering the importance of sound education to the development of the society it has gave top most priority to the education trust fund bill before passing it into law.
Rt. Hon. Danladi Jatau, the Speaker of the House announced the passage of the bill into law after it passed through third reading at the floor of the House today Tuesday.
The Speaker commended the Chairman of the Education Committee Rt. Hon. Abel Yakubu Bala and his members for doing a thorough and good job.
” I want to appreciate the committee for their efforts in ensuring that standard of education is improved in the state.
” We will not leave any stone unturned to ensure that quality and sound education is provided in the state. the Speaker said.
He said that the establishment of the Education Trust Fund will provide quality and sound education in the state.
He said that the Education Trust Fund would make provision for the Chairman of the Board to be a retired educationist while the Secretary of the board will be a civil servant not below the level of a Director.
Speaker Jatau appreciated Gov. Abdullahi Sule for his zeal and passion for the education sector through initiating the bill.
“The law provided for confiscated amount accrued from criminal proceedings and activities to be channeled into the state education trust fund”
“It also provides a jail term for individuals or groups found guilty in embezzling funds meant for the trust fund”
“The Nasarawa State Education Development Trust Fund is also aimed at providing functional and qualitative education, educational infrastructure, vocational skills, scholarship and other interventions to strengthen the standard of education and allow the state competes with its contemporaries educationally” The Speaker said.
“Recalled that the House has earlier had a public hearing where key actors in the education sector x-ray and make inputs on the bill before it was passed into law today”
“The law equally had 19 recommendations on possible ways of making the trust fund feasible”
“Additionally, aside seeking for upward review from one to two percent of the contract sum from companies in the state as source of funding, it also provides for one percent in the salaries of political office holders to fund the education trust fund”
“The law also pegged funds to institutions accordingly where tertiary institution will take 50%, secondary school 30% and basic level 20%, suggesting that the chairman of the trust fund must be a retired and seasoned educationist while the secretary should be a civil servant not below the rank of a Director in the state civil service”
“Also is that, in the law all monies secured will be shared into two where capital projects will take 70% and training will gulp 30% respectfully”The Speaker added.
The Speaker Rt. Hon. Danladi Jatau directed the Clerk of the House Mr Ibrahim Musa to produced a clean copy of the law for his perusal and onwards transmission to Gov. Abdullahi Sule for his ascent.