The Delta State govern

ment says it will spend about N3 billion on the rehabilitation of schools in 2011, as part of measures to shore up education standards.

Prof. Patrick Muoboghare, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, said this in an interview newsmen in Asaba.

Muoboghare said that the amount was for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of 108 public schools and provision of furniture and other educational materials for the schools.

He also said that the government had embarked on the construction of four special schools in each of the three senatorial districts and the construction of 45 model schools in the state.

He explained that the measure was to ensure that students and pupils in the state were provided with a conducive atmosphere for learning.

He noted that though most of the schools in the state were “old and distressed,” government had not shied away from its responsibility of re-invigorating and sustaining them.

“Yes, it is true that some schools in the state may be distressed, but there is a political will by the government to repair them and everyone knows that schools in Delta cannot be refurbished in a year,’’ he said.

He explained that presently, there were 1,170 and 846 primary and secondary schools in the state, respectively, with no less than 19, 256 workers in the secondary schools alone.

The commissioner also disclosed that the state had 1,412 teachers on grade level 16 and 1,600 teachers on grade level 15 in its payroll, adding that in spite of the huge bill for teachers’ salary, they were being paid regularly.

He called on all stakeholders in the education sector in the state to support the government in its efforts to restore standards in the school system.