The FCT Education Resource Center, ERC, has organized a book fair in the nation’s Capital to enable parents have opportunity to purchase text books at a discounted rate in the wake of school resumption for the 2023/ 2024 academic calendar year.
At the occasion in Abuja, Director, Education Resource Centre (ERC), Hajiya Neemat Abdulraheem, said the book fair organized by the Centre began in 1996 to encourage reading culture among students in FCT Schools.
Hajiya Neemat explained that one of the aims of organizing the book fair annually was to uplift the standard of education and improve the circulation of recommended books in both private and government-owned schools.
Declaring the 2023 book Fair open in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Mr Olusade Adesola called on School Heads and Principals to guard against patronizing pirated books for students.
Mr Adesola explained that Piracy is a hydra-headed monster that short-changes the system and robs authors and writers of their intellectual potential and benefits.
The Permanent Secretary therefore called on Principals and School Heads in Public and Private Schools across the FCT not to get involved in any form of book piracy.
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He commended the ERC for consistent and timely conduct of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which students can now obtain from anywhere in line with the 9:3:4 Educational policy rather than reliance on Primary School Testimonials.
Mr Adesola tasked the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) to inculcate the culture of reading in the children and cooperate with the FCTA in the ongoing Revalidation of the registration and Biennial accreditation of schools in the FCT.
The Permanent Secretary who further used the medium to urge the Stakeholders in the Education Sector to key into the vision of sustaining the nation’s education developmental agenda, commended the ERC for sustaining the book Fair in the last 28 years.
Speaking earlier, Acting Secretary Education Secretariat, Abdulrazaq Leramoh, explained that the book fair is the Secretariat’s modest contribution to make educators, parents and guardians purchase books at discounted prices.
He called on School Principals and Heads of Schools to ensure that they adhere to the recommended book list in their schools.
Speaking on behalf of the publishers, the Chairman of Nigeria Publishers Association (NPC), FCT Chapter, Innocent Agbanu, emphasized that the program is organized to fight against those involved in book piracy in the nation’s capital.
