By Saheed Ibrahim

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Ondo State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in conjunction with Ondo State Internal Revenue Service yesterday sensitised members of the public on the newly launched Education Levy.

Recall the State Government recently launched the education levy of a thousand naira payable by taxable adults in the State.

The funds garnered will supplement government allocations for education and will provide a pool of resources independent of government subventions to rejuvenate, renovate and upgrade education in the Sunshine State.

Contributions are welcomed from individuals, groups, corporate organisations, international organisations and bodies.

The voluntary levy will be used to provide relevant instructional materials, improve the quality of education through capacity building, renovate dilapidated structures and improve the quality of education through capacity building.

The fund will also be used to provide scholarships to indigent students, improve teaching and learning in special schools (4 in the State), promote sporting activities among the students, support adult literacy, provide functional libraries in schools, support research programmes, support teachers capacity development and support digital literacy, among others.

With road show, leaflets, placards and use of public address system to educate the public on the endowment fund, the sensitisation team yesterday toured the State capital to educate members of the public on the need to contribute to the education endowment fund.

The sensitisation team, divided into two, visited Alagbaka, Fiwasaye area, Ọja Oba, Old Garage, Arakale, Ondo Road and several other places in Akure.

The awareness and sensitisation programme will also be held in Ikare, Ondo and Okitipupa.

Speaking on the need for the road show,  the Secretary, Ondo State Education Endowment Fund (OSEEF), Kolawole Kayode said the awareness and sensitisation event was necessitated to enlighten the public on the need to contribute to the education endowment fund.

His words, “The objective is to create awareness and sensitise the public in respect of the newly introduced education endowment levy in the state.

“It is going on and we thank the people for the success. It has been scheduled for four towns in the three Senatorial districts of the state, which are Akure, Ondo, Okitipupa and Ikare. We are having it throughout this week.”

He stressed that government alone cannot fund education and the people need to support in making the education sector better.

Education experts have described the education levy as a round peg in a round hole for the State educational sector to develop.