The Japanese Government and Universal Basic Education Commission on Tuesday signed an agreement for the construction of 30 primary school blocks in Oyo State valued at $8.5m
The project, which is being undertaken by the Japan International Cooperation System, falls under a special scheme called Japan’s Grant Aid for Community Empowerment 2014.
The Project Manager of JICS, Mr. Kazunori Ogaguchi, during the opening of bid for the project at the UBEC Headquarters in Abuja, said over 325 classrooms were expected to be delivered when the project would be completed.
According to him, similar project, which had earlier been constructed in Kano State that produced 490 classrooms, is part of Japan’s assistance to the Federal Government to boost access to basic education.
The bids ceremony witnessed two major companies – Best and Crompton Engineering Africa Ltd and Ciroco Nig.Ltd – presenting their tenders document for evaluation by a special committee.
Ogaguchi stated that the project also involved provision of safety and maintenance components after completion of the project
He said, “Our budget for the construction of these classrooms is $8.5m and its for a period of 12 months. We have undertaken a similar project in Kano State and Oyo State is the next phase, where we are going to do such project.
“The whole essence is to create accessibility to basic education through these projects and after construction, we will provide safety components such as providing safety training and maintenance for these buildings.”
The Project Coordinator, International Development Partner for UBEC, Mr. Iro Umar, said the commission is empowered by law to seek assistance for educational development.
According to him, the high number of out-of-school children in the country, particularly in the northern part of Nigeria, informed the assistance from JICS.
