By Akoma Chinweoke
As members of the National Assembly prepare to deliberate on the N4.2 trillion  budget for 2011  submitted  by  President Goodluck  Jonathan, virtually all the ministries, parastatals are doing everything in the books to convince the  committees of  both chambers to approve their appropriation for the 2011 fiscal year.

But beyond the appropriation, as part of their oversight functions, majority of the committees are in their last- minutes visitation to  the parastatals and ministries under them to ascertain  their budget performance or otherwise of it for the outgoing year.

The House of Representatives House Committee on Education has been on the road in the last one month assessing and reviewing the budget compliance and performance of the various agencies under it. The committee is  headed by Honorable Faruk Lawan and comprising Honorables Gabriel Eddy, Vitalis Okafor, George Diaka, Chiedu Elvemumo, Kayode Idowu, Kolawale Ismaie, Hassan Haruna, Goni Butar, Chuka Nwauwa, Nimota Suliaman, Titilayo Akindahunsi, George Jolaoye, and Stanley Ohajuruka,  who says he was  a farewell visit as he would be assuming duties as the executive governor of Abia State in  2011.

The committee visited some parastatals under the ministry of education based in Kaduna and Abuja. The National Commission for Normadic Education headed by Dr. Nafisatu Muhammed,executive secretary, was on hand to receive the committee. Muhammed noted that the initial 2010 capital appropriation was N203,258,061 but reviewed downwards to N109,759,353 out which only N60,838,842 was  received while the recurrent allocation was initially N240,705, 624 but was reviewed down to N231,502,532, while only N214,046,624 has been released so far.

Its budget performance showed that it procured collapsible school structures, development and production of textual materials (teachers guides and pupils texts), development and production of interactive radio instruction support material, procurement of office equipment and furniture, as well as rehabilitation of community based nomadic schools.

In his remark, Lawan noted that the commission collect perhaps the smallest in terms of quantum of appropriation yet it is the most challenged because of its unconventional process of passing out education. He said education is a right and not a privilege. “So, everybody, irrespective of whom you are and where you are, you must have access to education, whether through the conventional or the one this commission is presently passing out, because it s only through education that our given talents can be harnessed  not only for our individual gains but for the development of the country”.

He however assured the commission that given its performance level of transparency and the judicious use of its budget, the committee would do more for the commission in the 2011 budget.

Professor Vincent Ado Tenebe, the vice – chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, told the committee that about N2.8b was appropriated to it this year but received about N954m. The amount with its internally generated revenue helped in providing IT solutions and office furniture and fittings at its 42 study centres, drainage work at headquarters, acquisition of pick_up vans and project monitoring vehicles, construction of bore holes at study centres.

An obviously impressed Lawan said the way to go in education in Nigeria that has large population is Open University even though he regretted that the balance of the university 2010 appropriation has not been released but promised that the committee would do everything in its power to get it released.

At the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, Lawan said the visit was home coming for him having being a polytechnic lecturer for many years before he joined politics. He said the contribution of NBTE in the education sector is not acknowledged and that is why it is not well funded.