The World Bank-assisted Science and Technology Education Post-Basic (STEP-B) Project has disbursed  $130 million for science and technology projects in Nigeria; this was made known in Abuja by the project’s national coordinator, Prof. Michael Adikwu.

According to him, STEP-B project is designed to improve the quality of science and technology education in Nigeria’s federal academic institutions, especially at the post-basic level including research institutions and federal unity schools.

From the $180 million earmarked for projects in Nigeria, about $130 million had been disbursed to fund projects in various agencies and schools.

“We disburse, we monitor, and we try to build the capacity of the various institutions. We call them post-basic educational institutions because this project is for the post-basic level; senior secondary schools, Monotechnics, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, Universities and Research Institutes, Prof Adikwu said.

He further disclosed that 104 Federal unity schools, 21 Colleges of Education, 22 Federal polytechnics, 27 Federal universities, 15 research institutions, supervisory agencies and the Federal Ministry of Education had all benefitted from the project since its inception; all of them at different stages of implementation.

“Some have done very well; some institutions. Others, average and it all depends on the time we gave them the money; the money is not released at the same time; the different institutions write for this money at various points,” he concluded.