UBEC unveils strategic framework to boost basic education

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) is to adopt public-private partnerships as a key priority in the commission’s new strategic blueprint for delivering basic education services in the country.

Executive Secretary of UBEC, Hajia Aisha Garba, who made this known, has accordingly had a series of meetings with the private sector, including the Head of Oando Foundation, Tonia Uduimoh.

Garba, during a meeting in Abuja with the Oando Foundation, emphasised the need for effective collaboration between the government and private sector in advancing basic education in Nigeria.

The discussions at the meeting centred on strengthening private sector partnerships in delivering basic education services, a key priority in UBEC’s new strategic blueprint.

The executive secretary expressed commitment to reviewing the proposed framework by the private sector and to establish a platform for PPP and other sustainable models for private sector investment in advancing Nigeria’s basic education sector.

Programme Manager of the Oando Foundation, Tonia Uduimoh, highlighted the Foundation’s investments in infrastructure rehabilitation and teaching and learning materials provision, which she noted have contributed to improving access and education quality across Nigeria.

Discussions also explored potential collaborations with the Education Cluster of the Private Sector Advisory Group for the SDGs to drive increased private sector investment in education through innovative financing mechanisms.

Earlier, the UBEC boss had noted that her goal is to deliver on the mandate, which includes strengthening collaboration, partnerships, and institutional learning for effective service delivery.

She said: “Together, we will work to increase access, improve quality, provide conducive and safe learning environments, supply adequate teaching and learning materials, and adopt the concept of ‘best fit’ in addressing specific basic education challenges, state by state and region by region (not a one-size-fits-all solution).

“Moreover, with an approximated 17 million children, Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children in the world, constituting a staggering obstacle to our nation’s progress towards universal access to education for every Nigerian child.

“Similarly, even when children are in school, they are lagging behind in learning outcomes. According to a World Bank Capital Index, students in Nigeria score 309 on a harmonised test score scale, where 625 are considered advanced attainment and 300 represents minimum attainment.

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‘And according to UNICEF, the primary school completion rate for Nigeria was at 59 percent in 2020 for boys and 51 percent for girls. The secondary school completion rate is even lower, with boys at 42 percent and girls at 36 percent. Access to higher education is still a challenge: while about 2 million candidates sit for the JAMB examinations every year, only about 500,000 are accepted.

“These are figures we should all be concerned about if we are to build a successful and productive society; the reason we must hit the ground running to change this status of basic education in the country.

It is therefore imperative for all of us to work together towards achieving this task ahead of us. We must seek to expand access, improve quality, and ensure the continuity of education, including across conflict-affected and protracted crisis settings,” she stated.