The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) said it has renovated 287 schools and more than 4,000 classrooms across the country as part of efforts to improve basic education infrastructure.

The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba, disclosed this while commissioning renovated classroom blocks and other facilities at the Nyanya-Hausawa Basic and Secondary School on Wednesday in Abuja.

Garba said the interventions were part of efforts to ensure that children across the country had access to conducive learning environments under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

She said the commission had introduced a minimum standard for schools, which required government interventions to adopt a whole-school approach.

According to her, the approach means that renovation projects will address the overall needs of schools rather than fixing individual classrooms or facilities in isolation.

Garba said the approach included classrooms, toilets, boreholes, solar power, administrative blocks and learning materials, among other facilities.

“Under the Renewed Hope agenda, President Bola Tinubu has mandated that all children, regardless of where they are, should be in school and we should make sure that schools are in a conducive environment for learning.

“This has been one of our key mandates, and since the coming of this administration, we have taken that directive seriously.

“We have done different reforms within the education sector under the leadership of our two Ministers,” she said.

Garba said the commission had also developed minimum standards for new school infrastructure to ensure that newly constructed schools had the facilities required for effective teaching and learning.

She said such facilities would include perimeter fencing, security measures, solar power, boreholes, adequate toilets and classrooms, administrative blocks and playgrounds.

The executive secretary added that schools would also be equipped with modern facilities such as computer and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) laboratories and smart boards.

She said the objective was to prepare Nigerian children to compete effectively in the 21st-century education system and the global economy.

Garba said the renovated school in Nyanya was one of the schools benefiting from the intervention, noting that the school had previously been in a dilapidated condition.

She said the school comprised Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), primary, junior secondary and senior secondary sections.

According to her, the intervention includes the renovation of three blocks, comprising about 30 classrooms and 48 toilets, as well as the provision of solar-powered boreholes.

She said the toilets were connected to the water system supplied by the boreholes.

Garba said the commission would further intervene in the school to address other outstanding needs, including the provision of an administrative block.

She also commissioned 74 digital learning centres as part of efforts to improve access to technology-driven education across the country.

At the Model Girls’ Junior Secondary School, AMAC, where she commissioned one of the Digital learning centres, Garba said the commission had established more than 2,000 of such centres under the administration of President Tinubu.

According to her, the centres are equipped with computers, smartboards, solar panels, burglar-proofing, printers, scanners and internet connectivity.

Garba said the centres also provided online and offline learning content for students and teachers.

She added that teachers were trained to use the digital learning facilities and content effectively.

Earlier, Ibrahim Nura, Director of Physical Planning, UBEC, said the school was one of the commission’s intervention projects across the country.

Nura said the school had been seriously dilapidated before the intervention, adding that some of its facilities were not suitable for effective teaching and learning.

He said the commission conducted a condition assessment before commencing the renovation to determine the specific needs of the school.

Nura said UBEC’s intervention had transformed the school and provided improved facilities for pupils, students and teachers.

The Principal of the Junior school at Nyanya-Hausawa Basic and Secondary School, Gideon Isah, commended UBEC for renovating the classroom blocks and providing staff and students’ furniture as well as a solar water system.

Isah said the school was previously in a deplorable condition, with some students sitting on bare floors due to inadequate furniture.

He said the renovation had improved the morale of teachers and students and created a better environment for learning.

The principal appealed to UBEC to assist the school with an administrative block, noting that the primary, junior secondary and senior secondary sections currently had no administrative block.

He said the community, in collaboration with the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), had employed three security personnel to protect the renovated facilities from vandalism.

The principal assured UBEC that the school community would maintain the facilities and use them judiciously.(NAN)

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) National Secretariat, the umbrella body representing over 40.1 Million Nigerian Students across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, has declareed total support for the transformative reforms currently reshaping Nigeria’s insurance industry.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the NANS President Comrade Akinteye Babatunde Afeez said the students body “recognizes the strategic importance of a strong, modern, and resilient insurance sector to national economic development and commends the leadership of the Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, for initiating bold economic reforms aimed at positioning Nigeria for sustainable growth and the realization of its $1 trillion economy aspiration”.

According to the statement “We equally commend the leadership of National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) under the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, and the Governing Board chaired by Hajia Halima Kyari, for their commitment to implementing far-reaching reforms that are restoring confidence, improving consumer protection, strengthening industry capacity, and promoting greater public trust in the insurance sector.

“Today, we speak not merely as students but as stakeholders in Nigeria’s future. We cannot remain silent while certain unpatriotic elements seek to undermine reforms that hold significant promise for economic transformation, youth empowerment, consumer protection, and national development.

” NANS joins all well-meaning Nigerians in celebrating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR’s historic assent to the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) on 31 July 2025, a historic legislation that modernized Nigeria’s insurance regulatory framework and replaced obsolete legal provisions with a comprehensive regime suited for a modern economy”, the statement added.

It further stated “we encourage NAICOM to intensify public awareness campaigns so that Nigerians fully understand the protections available to them under the new insurance regime”..

From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja

A Professor of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Strategy at the Federal University, Lokoja, John Alabi has called for more investment in the entrepreneurship/innovation sector to tackle Nigeria’s dwindling economy.

Professor Alabi who made the call while delivering the 46th Inaugural Lecture series of the University at its Felele Campus in Lokoja,on Wednesday, also stressed the need for government at all levels to prioritize investment in the sector to take care of the rising unemployment situation in Nigeria.

In his Lecture titled “Entrepreneurship Leadership through Entrepreneurial Education and Empowerment: Building an Entrepreneurial Economy in Vuca World” Professor Alabi advised that governments must provide enabling policies, universities must produce innovative graduates, industries must become active partners, financial institutions must support enterprise growth, and entrepreneurs themselves must embrace continuous learning, resilience, ethical leadership, and technological adaptation.

He explained that through entrepreneurial education and empowerment, nations can transform uncertainty into opportunity and build inclusive, resilient, and globally competitive economies.

“Governments should position entrepreneurship as a national development strategy rather than an employment intervention.

“Align entrepreneurship policies with national industrial and digital transformation agendas and investment in entrepreneurship ecosystems at federal, state, and local government levels.

“Building an entrepreneurial economy in a VUCA world requires more than increasing the number of entrepreneurs; it demands developing entrepreneurial leaders who can envision opportunities amid uncertainty, inspire innovation, mobilize resources, and create sustainable value

Professor Alabi also advocated that universities should focus on producing job creators rather than job seekers, establish functional entrepreneurship centres linked to industry, reward commercialization of research and innovation and encourage faculty-industry collaboration.

Other recommendations advanced by Professor Alabi includes, “Integration of entrepreneurship education across all levels of education, from primary to tertiary institutions.

“Shift from certificate-oriented learning to competency and problem-solving-based education.

“Promotion of interdisciplinary learning combining entrepreneurship, digital technology, leadership, and sustainability.

“Strengthen experiential learning through internships, incubators, business simulations, and enterprise projects.

“Developing a National Entrepreneurial Leadership Policy as well as establishment of a coordinated national framework for entrepreneurial leadership development.

“Encouragement of collaboration among government, academia, industry, and civil society”

In his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Professor Gbenga Ibileye gave an assurance that his administration would continue to encourage delivery of inaugural Lecture to ensure sustainability in the academic system.

Professor Ibileye said that the essence of the academic tradition is an opportunity for the academic staff to showcase their intellectual capacity in their field of study.

The Vice Chancellor described the topic of the lecture as timely and a welcome development that would go a long way in addressing the current economic reality in Nigeria.

He extolled Professor John Alabi, the Inaugural Lecturer, for his choice of contemporary topic that would add value to the people and the nation at large.