…to meet with Governors’ Forum soon
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tanko Sununu, has described as poor, the output from the years of financial investments in the education sector, particularly the basic education system.
To this end, the Minister said that plans are underway to meet with states governors under the umbrella of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to fine-tune plans to revive the basic education sector which is the foundation of learning in Nigeria, thus pulling more children out of the street back to school.
The Minister stated this in an address delivered at the quarterly meeting of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Management with the Executive Chairmen of States Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), in Abuja, on Tuesday, with the theme, “Redefining National and State Priorities for Effective Basic Education Delivery in Nigeria.”
The Minister said: “Investments in education is extremely commendable but the output is not commiserate with the level of investments made so far in the sector.”
He re-echoed the fact that Nigeria bears the burden of being a country with the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, in addition to low literacy level among its younger population.
He said: “Undoubtedly, most schools and infrastructures belong to the states, in line with the fact that education is in the Concurrent Legislative List. At the federal level, we form policies that would, expectedly, provide qualitative education for our people, but the actual execution of the policies and programmes resides with the states.
“In no distant time, we would launch a new roadmap for our education system. But that cannot be done with the input of the states because the duty of implementation of the policies is domiciled in the states.
He encouraged the SUBEB Chairmen to use the opportunity of the quarterly meeting to freely express themselves and highlight the challenges in their respective states, critically critique all suggestions and proffer superior solutions to the identified challenges.
Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, in his welcome remarks, said that the Commission was working with relevant partners to create public awareness on the dangers of having large numbers of out-of-school children, and providing platforms, structures and interventions through which the stakeholders at the State and grassroots levels will leverage.
In addition to that, he stressed the need for Nigeria to invest in digital technology-aided education. “This is the sure path towards producing globally competitive citizens. The UBEC Smart Schools are models that States are expected to replicate. Anambra and Enugu States are leading in this regard.
“A phased equipping of existing schools with ICT infrastructure and training of teachers should be adopted as a strategy for transforming the existing schools to smart schools. UBEC willingly support the States in this endeavour, especially in the areas of e-content development and training. So, States should take advantage of the opportunities these facilities will offer.”