… as UBEC trains local council education secretaries

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

The federal government says it is analysing the critical issues at every level in the nation’s education sector with the plan to review and come up with new initiatives and strategies that will deliver results.

The government which admitted that the country is facing what it described as learning poverty, vowed that the ugly development would soon be arrested.

The Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suwaba Ahmad, said this on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of a nationwide training and sensitization workshop for the nation’s 774 local government education secretaries in Abuja.

The event was organised by the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC.

Dr. Ahmad expressed happiness that the training was “for a section of education managers who play very crucial role in basic education delivery in the structure of the Universal Basic Education programme implementation.”

She said:”As a matter of fact, the local governments have the constitutional responsibility for primary school education delivery. It therefore will serve a good end when we have trained competent managers and effective supervisors at the local government level.

“As we are all aware, education ranks high on the priority list of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as espoused in the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“For us in the Federal Ministry of Education, we are analysing the critical issues at every level in the education sector with the plan to review and come up with new initiatives and strategies that will deliver results.”

Speaking further, the minister noted that “at the primary level, Nigeria is facing two major challenges in education delivery.”

” While we are grappling with the challenge of the large number of school age children who are not in school, there is also the problem of those in school who are not learning.

“Primary school education is today bedevilled by what is now popularly called ‘learning poverty.’ Primary school children are performing below their capacity, and this must be arrested.

” There are on-going programmes being implemented by different agencies under the ministry of education, which will require review, redirection and proper coordination. For example, there is a Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School children education whose mandate is to reduce the number of school age children who are not attending school.

” The ministry will continue to focus on and improve factors that impact on quality education delivery, such as teacher quality, school environment, availability of instructional materials, efficient school governance and supervision, “she said.

She assured that the federal government will remain committed to supporting local and state governments in ensuring that the goal of universal basic education programme is achieved in the shortest time.

She reminded the trainees that the success of the training “is only measured by the extent to which what is learnt is taken back and applied to improve service delivery” in their respective offices.

On his part, the Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, while explaining that the event was to train and sensitize all local government education secretaries,noted that:’In the position they occupy today, they are the administrative and professional heads of the local government education authorities and are primarily expected to ensure that the primary schools in their demains are run efficiently.”

” Training them as regularly as possible, assures that basic education delivery will perform above average in terms of learner performance. Apart from the supervisory and other administrative functions they perform, they also provide professional leadership to headteachers and teachers, as support officers, menters and coaches. They are to ensure that whatever is required for schools under them to perform effectively are provided. With these responsibilities on their shoulders, they deserve to get the professional support they need from the State Universal Basic Education Boards and the Universal Basic Education Commission, among others, “he added.

Bobboyi said one area that needs to be addressed as soon as possible, is strengthening transparency and accountability in fund management, to ensure that funds are utilised for the purpose they are disbursed.

” It is my expectation that with the recent autonomy granted local governments in Nigeria, more responsibilities will be devolved to them with the possible direct disbursement of primary education Federal Intervention Fund to states through the Local Government Education Authorities. We are therefore taking advantage at this training to draw their attention to the dos and don’ts in managing UBE Intervention fund, “he said.

The UBEC boss assured the secretaries that they will continue to receive the support of UBEC, especially in training that will improve their knowledge and skills in educational management.

“You should remember that the strength of our educational system, and indeed, the development of the nation at large, rests on the quality of primary education. Your role in basic education implementation is too crucial to be taken for grant. Please pay adequate attention to the training and ask for explanations on what you do not understand, “he tasked the trainees.