The Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC, is the core driver of primary and basic education in Nigeria overtime, and efforts are geared towards repositioning the agency in the area of of monitoring, supervision of basic education in Nigeria through a robust policies and programs, that will address not only the teething problems, but address the current realities.
The agency under the leadership of Dr Hamid Bobboyi as the current Executive Secretary/ Cheif Executive Officer CEO, serving a second term had set the ball rolling not only to consolidate the progress recorded overtime, but initiate others that will contend with the lingering artificial and natural phenomenon, particularly the world global pandemic of COVID that ravaged the entire globe, which led to subsequent lockdowns of economies including schools at all levels.
The unabated world global health challenges occasioned the glaring need to diversify the administration of schools and basic education in 2020, with dire consequences and responsible for the growing trend of out of school children, against the tenets and principle of Goal 4 of Sustainable Development Goals SDGs, that canvasses for quality education during it’s launch at the 70th UNGA and the decade of action of 2020-2030.
Conscious of the negative consequences, the UBEC had proactively taking series of action soon after the lockdown to establish ‘Smart Schools’ in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, as well as across the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The aim was geared against falling into the prey of national emergencies either in health, economic , social and otherwise, as with the need template, students at the primary and basic level are expected to know the rudimentary roles of e- learning through the provision of ICT facilities and facilitators across the nation.
The quantum loss both in the education of Nigeria children, students enrollment, out of school children as a result that led to early marriages, drop out among other variables, that mitigated against the education of Nigerian children before , during and post COVID in its first to fifth wave, now in it’s Delta variant.
The glaring negative consequences against providing social services in Nigeria was interrupted with dire consequences against the wishes of stakeholders both locally and internationally due to the pandemic.
The wise move by the Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC in Nigeria will go along way to bring to par children from the poor homes who for obvious reasons were denied continuous education, through stagnation because of the basic facts of lack of access to the information and communication technology ICT facilities that would have encouraged e-learning.
The importance of bridging the wider gap between the rich and the poor children in the area of education for the Nigeria children cannot be overemphasized, as some gifted ones will be unlocked to compete favourably with the affluence ones on many fronts and areas.
This will also guarantee non- interference of the primary and basic education programs for Nigerian children going forward, in accordance with the SDGs and it’s domestication programs in the country.
No doubt , the investment of billions of naira to commence the ‘Smart Schools’ across the six geopolitical zones will ameliorate the general public clamour by stakeholders that some higher percentage of children are out of school owing to some unforseen circumstances.
Trickling down to state levels across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory FCT, will not only bring at par both public and private schools pupils, but create an enabling environment for seamless competition both at home and abroad.
With commensurate facilities and trained handlers from the class teachers , to instructors and operators, no doubt the policy thrust of UBEC handlers to move Nigerian education into a digital world will be realizable between 2020-2030 of SDGs and 2020-2063 AUDA-NEPAD template on education for all in Nigeria.
All hands must be on deck to ensure the realization of such laudable objectives by the current leadership under the Executive Secretary/Cheif Executive Officer, Dr Hamid Bobboyi whose determination is to take education to the desired level in Nigeria.
Yusuf writes from Abuja, He can be reached via: [email protected].
