The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N964 million for the provision of satellite-based education system equipment in three primary schools in each of the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
This was revealed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, at the end of the Council meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said: “The Minister of Education obtained the approval of the council for the award of the contract for the provision of a satellite-based educational system for 109 e-learning centers in the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
“The contract is for the sum of N964 million. The purpose of the memorandum is to provide every senatorial district in the country with an e-learning provision. Each State has three senatorial districts and the FCT has one, being 109”.
According to the minister, the scope of the project is the provision of a satellite education system for 4,360 users in the senatorial districts, including the installation of 109 satellite receiving units, modems, servers and antennas in three schools in each state.
He also said that 4,360 Android tablets and 109 solar units would be deployed in beneficiary schools.
Commenting on the ongoing strike by university professors, the minister noted that, contrary to insinuations from some quarters, “the federal government is taking the necessary steps to ensure that professors call off the strike, to allow students to return to their classes”. .
On the comment by some governors that the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, was hastily linked to the terrorist attack on a church in Owo, Mohammed said that ISWAP was singled out based on an intelligence report available to the government.
He said: “Whether it’s ISWAP or not, I don’t think that’s really the problem. The problem is that it shouldn’t have happened and security is doing everything they can to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“The Nigerian government has access to a lot of information and intelligence reports and I want to say that saying it was ISWAP must have been based on their intelligence report and the government will ensure that the perpetrators are caught and prosecuted accordingly.”
(YAYA)