,,,Say Out-of-School children figure unacceptable

By Adesina Wahab

For Nigeria to drastically reduce the number of Out-of-School children, OSC, confront challenges facing the basic education sector among others, the Universal Basic Education Act 2004 and Other Related Matter must be reviewed.

This was the consensus of opinion of critical stakeholders who converged on Lagos at the weekend for the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, retreat for the Senate Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary).

The theme of the retreat was “Basic education implementation in Nigeria: Issues, challenges and way forward.”

Setting the ball rolling, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, said the Act should be reviewed for education in Nigeria to be able to respond to the needs and aspirations of the country.

“Having been enacted in 2004, that is 20 years ago, and given the developments and changes that have taken place in the society since then, it is our view that the Act is overdue for review. Our education should respond to the needs and aspirations of our country and there is no better way to do this than being abreast of local and global developments.

” Our presentations will cover the status of basic education in Nigeria and its implementation challenges, UBEC programmes and initiatives, UBE funding mechanism, UBEC Smart Education programme, learner assessment in basic education and the perspectives of the State Universal Basic Education Boards on UBE implementation,” he said.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, (Basic and Secondary), Senator Lawal Adamu Usman, noted that equal and adequate education for all Nigerian children is a matter of paramount interest.

“The number of Out-of-School children is unacceptable. Free and compulsory education at basic level for all Nigerian children is the responsibility of the government. If we are to tackle all the challenges facing the sector, the UBEC Act must be reviewed. We need to tackle all the challenges for the future of our children.

” The Senate is ready to do the needful in that respect. Among the areas we will look into is making more funds available for the commission to be able to achieve its mandate. We will also look into making justiciable, the provisions of the Act. We have to secure the future of Nigerian children and thereby securing the future of our dear country, ” he stated.

The Chairman of the occasion, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, who is also a former governor of Ogun State, listed the problems facing basic education sector to include poor funding, inadequate teachers, poor facilities, disparity in education opportunities between boys and girls, and people with or without disabilities among others.

He also frowned at large classes that are beyond the control of an average teacher, obsolete technology and so on.

“We need increased funding for the sector, improve on teacher’s training, and also make education inclusive. We must engage communities too and review our curriculum to be abreast with what today’s world demands,” he said.

Daniel also called for due recognition of teachers and the embracing of public private partnership to move the sector forward.

In his message, read by the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Bimbola Hundeyin, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said there was need to assess the state of basic education in the country.

“It is imperative to address the challenges facing basic education if we are not going to toy with our future. We need to strategise on how to provide resources for the sector and ensure that our children learn in safe and secure environment. Also, disparity in educational equality must be addressed, ” he said.