The Lagos State Government has launched a N5bn Post-Coronavirus Recovery Support Fund for the education sector to support low-cost private schools in the state against the negative impact of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Gboyega Akosile, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a statement, said the intervention fund, in partnership with First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, will target over 2,000 private schools, in two categories of applicants: Micro-Enterprise (ME) and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME).
The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund collaborated with First Bank to facilitate the matching fund, which will be given as loans to schools and vocational education centres across the state.
The statement stated that the loan scheme would disburse amount no more than N500,000 to those in the ME category while those in SME would get N5m.
Sanwo-Olu stated that the intervention was part of the state government’s sustainable solutions to limit the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both residents and businesses.
“It is no longer debatable that education is one of the sectors that are severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with schools and vocational learning centres shut since March when we took the tough decisions meant to disrupt the spread of the virus.
“Given the incidence of the closure of schools in response to the pandemic, it would not be out of context to note that the challenges presently faced by these schools would increase significantly.”
Dr. Adeola Adeduntan, Chief Executive Officer, First Bank Plc, explained that the bank went into the partnership with recognition of the role education played towards the growth of the economy.
