By Godfrey AKON
The Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, has expressed worry over the rate of poor learning outcomes in primary and junior secondary schools across the country, despite series of interventions to boost learning in the basic education subsector.
Speaking at a one-day workshop for the Council for Regulation of Engineers in Nigeria, COREN, inspectors for monitoring of UBEC/SUBEBS Matching Grant intervention projects in 36 states and FCT, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, said pupils in some parts of the country were not learning adequately.
Bobboyi blamed poor learning outcomes on a number of factors including, recruitment of unqualified teachers by some state governments, lack of regular professional training programmes for teachers, low remuneration among others.
The UBEC boss’ reactions follows reports by United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, that Nigeria is faced with staggering learning crisis with about 70 per cent of children in schools cannot read and write or perform basic numeracy task by age 10.
He said even though the figures being bandied were not scientific, the Commission was working with UNICEF to have a largescale assessment of learning achievements in the country, going into the details of what the problems are and to improve on learning outcomes in Nigeria.
According to him, there was need to invest more on teachers that would teach children at the basic level of education, especially public schools across the country.
“There is no justification for all the investment, if the child in the classroom is not learning,” he said.
On collaboration with COREN, Bobboyi, said one of the key elements that could encourage learning is good environment, hence the need the partnership with the Council to ensure that infrastructure built in public schools across the country are of standard quality.
Recall that on 3rd March, 2022, UBEC and COREN signed a memorandum of understanding for the Council to monitor UBEC matching grant intervention projects across the 36 states of the Federation and Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The Executive Secretary disclosed that 50 per cent of allocation to the Commission from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, CRF, as support by the Federal Government to basic education, is disbursed to state governments for development of infrastructure.
He said it was therefore important for UBEC to monitor what is going on in order to ensure that there is value for money and infrastructures built are safe and could last for long time as well as motivate the pupils to learn better.
He added that the role of the COREN was to make sure that all buildings in public basic schools have certification and well-built to add value to Nigerian classrooms.
According to him, the engagement of COREN for monitoring and evaluation of UBEC projects would add value to the efforts being put in place to ensure quality basic education delivery in the country.
Registrar of COREN, Professor Adisa Bello, in his remark, said the Council is to monitor construction work, renovation, furniture, equipment, works and water supply projects and report appropriately to UBEC management, saying this falls within Engineering Regulation Monitoring, ERM, mandate of the Council.
Bello said this was to ensure protection of lives and property, safety and value for money for sustainable national infrastructure development in Nigeria.
he warned the inspectors against deviation from the norm, stressing that anyone found wanting during the exercise would be dealt with accordingly.
“Any of our inspectors that is found wanting in the course of his or her duty, will be adequately sanctioned,” he said.
