By Emma Chukwubuike

It’s imperative to begin this intervention by stating that Enugu State government’s budget for education in 2025 fiscal year is N320.6 billion, while Ebonyi State’s total budget for 2025 Fiscal year is N396.5 billion. This comparison is to highlight the fact that with such bold investments in education, Enugu State education system would be an Eldorado where all the debilitating challenges would have been conquered. But is that really the situation on ground?

Since, he assumed office in 2023, Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah of Enugu state, who changed his mantra from “Tomorrow is Here” to “Business Unusual,” has claimed a revolution in Education by moving from normal conventional model of education to building Smart schools in 260 wards of Enugu State.

In the 2025 fiscal year, Enugu State, led by Governor Mbah, allocated the sum of ₦320.6 billion to the education sector, representing approximately 33% of its total budget of ₦971.84 billion. This was seen by many as a sign of the state’s commitment to enhancing educational infrastructure and services. A cursory breakdown of the budget shows that the Enugu State Ministry of Education has about ₦113.65 million earmarked for its activities, a significant increase from the previous year’s allocation of ₦69.3 million. Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB) was allocated ₦8.4 million, up from ₦6.4 million in the previous year, which also indicates an increase that is very unusual. The state can also boast of approximately 300 public secondary schools, with about 293 managed by the Enugu State Post Primary School Management Board. It also has about 1,226 public primary schools and five tertiary institutions.

It is also important to note that the budget includes the ongoing construction of smart schools in 260 wards of the state, which would transition into 17 Smart Secondary Schools and eight Science, Technical, and Vocational Schools being constructed in the 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) within the eight Federal Constituencies of the state, respectively.

With all the hype about the Smart School in Owo (governor’s home town), which the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ndubeze Mbah, said has 865 students and 27 Smart Teachers – giving a teacher-to-student ratio of approximately 1:32 – it is worth questioning how this meets international best practices. The internationally accepted ratio is 1 teacher per 15–25 students for primary schools and 1 teacher per 20–30 students for secondary schools. If the state’s much advertised educational transformational model does not meet global standards, then what exactly is the justification for all the hype about educational advancement?

With all these taken into consideration, one would begin to applaud Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah for this giant stride, but what baffles critical thinkers like us is: where lies human capital development investment?

It’s worthy of note that despite all these budgetary allocations, there are little efforts to address critical issues affecting the advancement of education in the state, such as the salaries and welfare of teachers and lecturers. A situation where a primary or secondary school teacher on level 12 goes home with less than ₦120,000 a month, while an Assistant Lecturer in Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, earns a mere ₦120,000, is nothing short of alarming. It is worthy of note that it takes more than nine years for a teacher to reach this level or an MSc certificate to become an Assistant Lecturer in any university.

A visit to Enugu State College of Education Technical, ESCET, and other state-owned tertiary institutions, would expose poor remuneration leading to demoralization of the workforce. Such a visit will definitely leave a bitter taste in the mouth considering poor attention to staff welfare. A situation where a professor earns less than ₦400,000, whereas his counterparts in other states earn above ₦800,000 leaves one with a horrible imagination of the state of things in the state’s education system. With such state of affairs, where then lies all the hype about 33% budgetary allocation?

It is on record that none of the state’s tertiary institutions including ESUT, IMT (Institute of Management and Technology), ESCET, or the Enugu State Polytechnic, Ezeagu can boast of any functional clinic or modern library, yet we have an allocation of over ₦320 billion—a budgetary allocation that is just slightly below the ₦396.5 billion budget of the entire Ebonyi State in 2025.

It is also worthy of note that ₦166.6 billion was the entire budget of the state in 2023 before the supplementary ₦15 billion, which Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah later got approval for.

IMT alone lacks lecturers and makes use of mostly part-time lecturers who are paid about ₦100,000 a session with no hope of employment even with the meagre salaries.

There is a need for the public to know where these funds are going. This is because almost all the schools in the state cry of underfunding, as it is alleged that many get their running costs through local government allocations. Where is the 33%?

Recently, there were reports of about ₦151.35 billion budget surplus, which was adjudged to be the highest in the Southeast. That expression still sounds unusual to many concerned citizens.

It is not enough to allocate a significant portion of the budget to education without addressing the fundamental issues plaguing the sector. Infrastructure development is commendable, but without well-motivated educators, proper funding for research, and improved working conditions, the sector remains stagnant. Teachers at all levels continue to struggle with poor remuneration, lack of career growth opportunities, and an overall disregard for their contributions to the state’s development. How can the state claim to prioritize education when those responsible for imparting knowledge are undervalued?

Moreover, the issue of security within the education sector has not been given the attention it deserves, as most of our primary and secondary schools in the rural areas are attacked once in a while with their equipment looted due to lack of security. It is on record that most government primary and secondary schools in the state are not connected to the national grid, which means they don’t know what electricity is, yet we applaud a 33% budgetary allocation in education.

If the state truly wants to build a knowledge-based economy, then ensuring the safety of students and staff must be a priority. A well-funded education sector should not only focus on physical structures but also on securing these institutions, upgrading staff welfare and providing a conducive learning environment.

Transparency in budget implementation is another major concern. If ₦320.6 billion has been allocated to education, why are public institutions still grappling with underfunding? Why do tertiary institutions lack modern laboratories, well-equipped libraries, and updated academic materials? If the government claims to have a budget surplus, why is this surplus not directed toward solving these pressing issues? These are questions that require urgent answers.

Until then, the loud declarations about a 33% education budgetary allocation in Enugu State remain nothing more than a well-crafted illusion.

Dr. Chukwubuike is the National Coordinator, Enugu State Development Awareness Forum (ESDAF)