The Enugu State Government says it has equipped over 230 of the 292 government secondary schools in the state with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) laboratories.
Mr Nestor Ezema, Chairman Enugu State Post Primary School Management Board (PPSMB), said this on Thursday during a quarterly oversight visit by the State House of Assembly Committee on Education to the board.
He said that this had become necessary to encourage computer literacy among students.
Ezema said the idea behind the project was that ICT should become an integral part of the lives of every student and also integrated into the education system because ICT was awash with infinite information.
The board chairman said to achieve the goals, the government recruited 1,000 teachers while 843 volunteer teachers were also converted to permanent teachers in the state.
He said the board targeted those at the rural areas first because they were always short-changed in the scheme of things.
Ezema, while giving other reports, identified cultism among students as the major challenge militating against the activities of the board.
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He, however, said that the board expelled eight students this year over cult-related issues, while parents were sensitised on properly monitoring their children while at home because they stay more at home than in school.
Ezeme also said that the board had set up a rehabilitation unit that would help in reforming expelled students before reabsorbing them to avoid bad influence on other students.
The board chairman said that the board had accessed up to 90 per cent of their 2019 budget.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr James Akadu, commended the state government for the prompt payment of teachers’ salaries and leave allowances.
Akadu expressed happiness that all the educational institutions in the state were doing well, adding that all their subventions were also increased.
He thanked the board for the job well done, especially for putting up the measure to curb the menace of cultism among students.