BY DAYO ADESULU

Over N50 million public fund is expected to be saved by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) through the adoption of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for the printing of the newly revised 9-Year Basic Education Curriculum for primaries 4 – 6.

This revelation came from Mr. Patrick Ozeigbe, Director of Procurement and Corporate Services of NERDC, at the bid opening session which held in Lagos, with representatives of the nation’s major publishing outfits in attendance.

The benefits accruable to the nation from the partnership with the publishers, according to Ozeigbe, is not only limited to the conservation of public funds but also include the delivery of qualitative curriculum to the nation as the selected publishing companies have their reputation and integrity to protect.

Those who bidded for the printing of the curriculum are West African Book Publishers, University Press Plc, HEBN Publishers Plc, Africana Press Publishers, Macmillan Nigeria Publishers and NERDC Printing Press.

Ozeigbe further said; “The project of printing the curriculum for primaries 4 – 6 is captured in the 2013 budget. We first did the printing for primaries 1 – 3 and the publishers have been doing well.

“It is expected that they should complete the printing of the curriculum for primaries 4 – 6 within 60 days. The process of bidding and issuance of award letters by NERDC is a transparent one. Due process and Procurement Act are our guiding principles. So you don’t need to know anybody before you can win a contract these days. This prevents corruption. In accordance with the Procurement Act, everybody is treated equally and the most competent and responsible people are given the jobs.

“Curriculum is a sacred document and that is why we go for highly responsible publishing houses because the Federal Government is after a highly qualitative curriculum that will engender the delivery of quality education in all the nation’s schools. That is why NERDC painstakingly developed a curriculum that will make our children self-reliant instead of seeking white-collar jobs that are non-existent.”

Ozeigbe added that NERDC has put everything in place to ensure quality assurance in the printing and delivery of the curriculum by the publishers to all the states of the federation.

To this effect, a monitoring team has been constituted by NERDC, which will from 23rd of next month travel to all the states of the federation to carry out on-the-spot verification exercise of quality and quantity of copies of the curriculum supplied for all the school subjects.

Ozeigbe said the onus is on  state governments to ensure that both public and private schools commence the use of the curriculum from September this year.

The Director/Head of NERDC South-West Zonal Office, Dr. Moses Salau, who spoke on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the parastatal, Professor Godswill Obioma, said that while public schools are given the curriculum free of charge, private schools are to purchase it.