The Federal Government has unveiled a report on tracking basic education funds in Lagos State, which was carried out by non-governmental group, Human Development Initiatives (HDI). 

Launching the report at the Basic Education National Stakeholders Dialogue organised by HDI, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Andrew Adejo, said the Federal Government is determined to support schemes aimed at boosting the basic education subsector. 
   
While lamenting the poor ranking of Nigeria in the Human Development Index, Adejo said the country needs to do more in the area of basic education to achieve the desired position. 
   
“Nigeria’s HDI score (0.539), which is poor compared to many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, indicates challenges in access to quality education and educational opportunities. 
   
“To improve the HDI score, Nigeria needs to focus on increasing access to education, reduce dropout rates and enhance overall quality,” Mrs Folake Olatunji, the Director of Basic Education said. Adejo, who commended HDI for embarking on the project, said the Federal Government remained committed to providing basic education for all.
  
“The Federal Government provides support to basic education (in states) through fiscal transfers from the Universal Basic Education (UBE) intervention fund managed by UBEC. The fund receives at least two per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
  
“The most recent Ministerial Strategic Plan (MSP) 2019- 2022 being currently reviewed focuses on addressing system challenges, entrenching strategic planning and ensuring results-oriented implementation at the national and state levels.
   
“Let us all, therefore, stand united in our partnership and work together to create a brighter future for our children,” he said.  On her part, Executive Director, HDI Nigeria, Mrs Olufunso Owasanoye, said the organisation tracked Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board’s  (SUBEB) 2018 to 2020 action plans, and codified its findings into a single report. 
  
 According to the report, over N7.4 billion basic education funds allocated to various projects in Lagos were tracked in the three years, with 2018 accounting for N2.95 billion, 2019 – N3.03 billion and 2020-N1.43 billion. 
  
“This report which is titled: ‘Tracking basic education funds in Lagos State: Blessings and lessons,’ is a chronicle of HDI’s activities, interventions, successes and challenges in the sub-sector in Lagos over the past seven years,” Owasanoye said. 
    
According to the HDI boss, the UBE funds tracking project, which was made possible with funding support from MacArthur Foundation, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and other stakeholders, officially kicked off in 2017 and had been highly impactful.
  
“The project did not merely focus on engagement with government actors to bring about the needed change, but much more, engaged with community stakeholders, including school-based management committees, parents’ forum, community development associations, among others, to hold the government accountable on matters of basic education.
  
“This multi-level approach to engagement has birthed quite a lot of accomplishments, including local stakeholders now appreciating their roles in the development of basic education; contractors delivering projects in the right quality and quantities; strengthening the capacities of government actors and community stakeholders for effective service delivery in the basic education sector.
  
“With this project, we have proven that Education for All (EFA) is the responsibility of all,” she said. On the stakeholders’ dialogue, the HDI boss said the session was to brainstorm on possible solutions to some of the identified major challenges in the basic education sector across the country. 

She said: “In the course of our project tracking exercise over the past seven years, we have encountered some challenges which are not peculiar to Lagos State.
 
 “We hope to raise critical points of order and strategise on the way out of the already identified debacles slowing down the progress of basic education in the country. The output of this dialogue will be presented to all relevant stakeholders at different levels so as to make our voice heard, especially towards actualising transparency, accountability and good governance in the administration and delivery of quality, inclusive and equitable basic education throughout Nigeria, “ she said.