Minister of Education, Dr Tunji A‌lausa, on Tuesday officially inaugurated the Ogbo Central Smart School, Ipupe Ubakala, built by Governor Alex Otti, to enhance education and make Abia children compete favourably with their counterparts globally.

Speaking at the event, Alausa commended the governor for his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to transforming education through strategic investments in human capital.

He noted that sustainable development was not measured solely by physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges, but by deliberate investments in education and the intellectual capacity of the people, adding that the governor’s education reforms were aimed at equipping every child in the state with the knowledge and skills required to compete successfully at the local, national and global levels.

“That’s what we are witnessing in Abia State today. When you have a governor who is committed and who thought and said, ‘I am going to build a smart school’, not just one, not two, not three, not four, 10, or 20, that is a governor who cares for the people. That is a governor who wants your kids to lead Nigeria and lead the world.

“Today, your kids and Abia children will sit in this school. They will get the best educational material that a child in America or in London would get, and also have it right here in this community. They will learn how to use AI. Five years from now, 10 years from now, Abia will lead the world,” Dr Alausa stated.

Speaking at the inauguration, Otti announced that the smart school was the first of three such projects that would be inaugurated this month across the three senatorial districts of the state.

He added that another 17 would be built, one in each local government area of the state, for pupils’ use.

“Evidently, Abia has moved into a new era of technology-driven participatory model of learning.

“Each of the 20 smart schools that will dot our landscape by the end of the year shall be equipped with an interactive box, and each pupil, 300 per school, 30 in a classroom, will be handed a tablet to support their learning experience,” Otti stated.

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Goodluck Ubochi, said that the event was a declaration that Abia was preparing its children for the future, and described it as a realisation of a bold vision.

The Executive Chairman of Abia State Universal Basic Education, Lady Lydia Onuoha, described the smart school initiative as a strategic investment aimed at equipping Abia children with the skills required to thrive in the 21st-century global economy.

Chief Executive Officer, Blue Giraffe Development Limited, Mrs Orieji Okwara-Emele, said the project would shape the young minds, while the President of Ubakala Improvement Union, Elder Godwin Mbaonu, expressed the gratitude of the community for what he described as the opening of a new chapter of basic education in their community and the state.