By Kingsley Ohens

When Governor Monday Okpebholo assumed office, education was one of the sectors that demanded urgent attention. Rather than treating the challenges confronting the sector as isolated problems, the administration placed education at the centre of its SHINE Agenda and declared a state of emergency on public schools in March 2025.

That intervention has since developed into a broader education reform programme covering school infrastructure, teacher recruitment and welfare, student access, tertiary institutions, scholarships, technical and vocational education and, increasingly, the legal and administrative framework governing the sector.

At the heart of the administration’s intervention is the recognition that a functioning education system requires more than classrooms. It requires teachers who are motivated to teach, students who can afford to remain in school, institutions capable of producing graduates, and an administrative structure capable of sustaining the gains.

The first visible component has been the extensive rehabilitation and reconstruction of public schools across Edo State. Government reporting indicates that more than 70 schools had been constructed, renovated or remodelled within the first year of the programme, out of a broader target of more than 100 schools across the three senatorial districts. The transformation has included schools such as Army Day Secondary School and Evbareke Secondary School, alongside interventions in other communities.

The administration has simultaneously placed teacher manpower at the centre of the reform. More than 5,000 Edo STAR teachers were absorbed into permanent government employment, while additional teachers were recruited through relevant education agencies. The administration had earlier announced the recruitment of 500 teachers and subsequently moved to regularise long-serving contract educators.

That intervention matters because infrastructure without adequate manpower cannot produce the desired educational outcomes. By addressing both sides of the equation—learning environments and teaching personnel—the government has sought to move the public-school system away from a situation in which deteriorating infrastructure and manpower shortages reinforce one another.

Teacher welfare has also received attention through infrastructural interventions in technical and vocational institutions. The renovation of the Principal and Staff Quarters at Government Technical College, Benin City, was presented by the Edo State Government as part of its effort to improve the working and living conditions of teachers in technical institutions.

The reform agenda extends beyond the physical school environment. Basic education remains free in Edo State, while the administration has pursued measures aimed at improving access and keeping children within the education system. The state’s basic education authorities have continued to inspect schools, engage teachers and school heads and identify areas requiring intervention.

At the tertiary level, the administration has also sought to confront longstanding institutional challenges. Government-reported figures show that monthly subvention to Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, was increased from ₦41 million to ₦500 million, while Edo State University, Uzairue, received an increase from ₦25 million to ₦250 million. The stated objective was to strengthen institutional operations, infrastructure, research and staff development.

The administration has further reported interventions involving students whose academic progression had been affected by institutional and regulatory challenges, including medical graduates and students facing JAMB regularisation issues. These interventions have been presented as part of a wider effort to ensure that students do not spend years trapped by administrative bottlenecks after completing their academic requirements.

Student welfare has equally become part of the policy conversation. Governor Okpebholo approved a ₦1 billion annual bursary scheme for Edo State indigenes studying in tertiary institutions across Nigeria, with eligibility subject to verification. The initiative was presented as a means of reducing the financial pressure on students and their families.

The 2026 approved budget takes that commitment further. It provides ₦200 million for the Senator Monday Okpebholo Education Talent Hunt Scholarship Programme and ₦287 million for instructional materials for senior secondary schools. It also contains provisions for equipment and furniture for technical colleges, including Benin and Ehor Technical Colleges.

This is significant because the direction of the reform is gradually moving beyond conventional classroom education towards talent development and skills acquisition. Technical and vocational education has a particularly important role in that transition, especially in an economy where young people require practical skills alongside conventional academic qualifications.

The administration’s education agenda has also increasingly incorporated youth development and social protection. On September 19, 2026, Edo State hosted the maiden Okpebholo-Marwa Mini Marathon Against Drug Abuse for secondary-school students. More than 100 students from four public schools participated, while the top three students received one-year academic scholarships and the overall winner received free SSCE registration.

Beyond the immediate rewards, the initiative connected education with character development, healthy lifestyles and drug-abuse prevention—demonstrating an approach in which the school is viewed not merely as a place for academic instruction but as an institution for developing responsible citizens.

Perhaps one of the most important developments in the reform agenda is now taking place at the policy and legislative level.

In September 2026, the Edo State House of Assembly commenced consideration of legislation seeking to repeal the 1988 Bendel State Education Edict and establish a dedicated Edo State Secondary School Board for the administration of senior secondary education. The bill has passed second reading and has been referred to the House Committee on Education for further consideration.

If enacted, the proposed framework would represent a structural change in the management of senior secondary education, complementing the role of SUBEB in primary and junior-secondary education. It therefore places the administration’s education reforms within a longer-term institutional framework rather than limiting them to individual projects.

The appointment of Dr. Washington Osifo as Commissioner for Education in August 2026 has also introduced a new phase in the administration’s education drive. Governor Okpebholo swore in Osifo following the resignation of former Commissioner Paddy Iyamu, with the new commissioner assuming responsibility for the ministry at a time when the state is simultaneously pursuing infrastructure renewal, teacher development, tertiary reform and legislative changes in education administration.

Taken together, the documented interventions reveal a reform strategy with several interconnected layers: rebuilding schools, strengthening the teaching workforce, supporting students financially, revitalising tertiary institutions, expanding technical education, rewarding academic excellence and reforming the institutions responsible for managing education.

That broader approach is important because the success of an education policy cannot ultimately be measured by the number of buildings renovated alone. The real test is whether children can enter school, learn in safe environments, encounter qualified and motivated teachers, complete their education without avoidable administrative barriers and acquire the academic or technical skills required to participate meaningfully in society.

The Okpebholo administration has therefore placed its education programme on a trajectory that seeks to address both the physical condition of the system and the human capital within it.

From the classroom to the teacher, from the primary school to the university, from bursaries and scholarships to technical skills, and now from individual projects to proposed legislative restructuring, Edo’s education agenda under Governor Monday Okpebholo is increasingly being defined as a comprehensive attempt to rebuild the system from its foundation.

The evidence of the programme is now visible in completed interventions, ongoing projects, approved budgetary provisions and proposed institutional reforms. The next phase will be measured by the sustainability of these interventions, the quality of learning outcomes and the administration’s ability to maintain the momentum across all 18 local government areas.

For an administration that made education a central component of its SHINE Agenda, the direction is clear: rebuilding Edo’s education system is being pursued not simply as an infrastructure project, but as a long-term investment in the state’s human capital and future.