Anxious to make a difference soon after assumption of duty for a second term, the leadership of Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC under Dr Hamid Bobboyi swung into action with the introduction and of a new program that will mitigate the critical state of our basic education in Nigeria with the introduction of School Basic Management Committee, School Improvement Program( SBMC-SIP) .
The new program launched was expected to guarantee other seamless policies among many others introduced by the commission particularly with unabated global health crises of COVID in it’s Delta variant and Omicron ravaging nation’s among many other unforseen development.
The decision to embark on the special program was to give more opportunities to basic education that involved a post COVID template that will drive the sector with a view to achieving set goals.
The new program is expected to go along way to impact on other ones earlier debuted with management strides through partnerships with sister agencies, along with introduction of ‘SMART’ meant to provide e- learning to schools across the country with provision of computers and trained personnel.
According to UBEC management, the flag off in Cross River State was to kicked the ground running , as well symbolised the disbursement of it’s funds ,so as to encourage the communal engagement towards the success of the new program.
Aside communal participation and involvement, UBEC strides had enabled both local actors and communities take the drivers seat in the course of Nigeria’s Educational development.
Convened four years ago with planned implementation of about 2,526 projects overtime, was designed for basic schools graduands to compete favourably across the globe in conjunction with other programs like Community United for Basic Education (CUBE) , School Infrastructure Transformation Initiative(SITI), and Partnership for Improve Learning Achievement(PILA).
The execution of the program at all levels included the pre-flag off activities to project implementation in line with the provision of the Memorandum of Understanding MOU between communities and UBEC.
Already , UBEC had released to communities numbering about 1,147 across the country .N8Bllion representing 75% of the funds earmarked, with stakeholders of beneficiary communities providing 10% of UBEC’s contributions as counterpart funds.
This collaboration between government and communities will be a leeway to ensuring the impact of basic education across the country inline with the sustainable goals.
These collaboration cut across not only communities, but stakeholders, like international development partners, organised private sectors, traditional and religious as well as opinion leaders, with federal, state, local government, NGO among many others on the stream.
The new mandate will galvanized basic education in Nigeria with strong commitement and deployment as a tool for building peaceful, united, and prosperous nation with a literate, informed, and skilled citizenry towards building a virile nation through massive participation.
UBEC’s efforts was to drive basic education in Nigeria and it’s dynamics, meant to address the numerous gap arising from policy introduction and implementation across the country.
Going by the new School Based Management Committee-School Improvement Program SBMC-SIP, no doubt basic education in Nigeria will achieve higher percentage that will ameliorate basic teething problems of accommodation and infrastructural developement across the country.
Yusuf is a Public Affairs Analyst, writes from Abuja.
