The Edo State Government will on Monday, September 12, 2022, when the next academic session begins, kick off a campaign that makes it compulsory for every child in Edo schools to plant a tree to commemorate their birthdays.

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, while speaking to journalists in Benin City, said his government remains committed to guaranteeing a conducive and safe learning environment for students in Edo and has put in place mechanisms to ensure proper waste management in all schools across the state.

According to him, “I have directed the Edo State Ministry of Education to set up a cleanup system in all our schools and ensure proper waste management of these schools.

“I have also directed principals across our schools to make tree planting mandatory and compulsory for children to commemorate their birthdays.”

He continued: “Tree planting and landscaping are important and now compulsory in our schools in Edo State and the principals in these schools will now mandate that every child in Edo must plant a tree to commemorate their birthdays.

“The Edo Ministry of Education will create a parent council which will be made up of representatives of all PTA in all our schools in Edo State as it will serve as a platform to engage parents in a structured manner so as to sustain our ongoing reforms in education as parents need to collaborate with the government to train the children.”

The governor added, “To protect our reforms, we are undertaking system-wide reforms and everything we do will be backed by the laws. I have mandated the Commissioner of Education to update all our laws relating to education, particularly the SUBEB Law, PPEB Law and the Basic, Technical and Vocational Laws in the state. All our reforms must be entrenched.”