NUT warns against commercialisation of education

The leadership of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has warned the Federal Government against “unchecked commercialisation” of education, citing outrageous increase in school fees and other charges across the country.

The union expressed concerns that underfunding and general neglect of public primary and secondary schools, giving room for private providers to set high school fees, is gradually pushing education beyond the reach of indigent parents.

National President of the Union, Audu Amba, who stated this at a one-day workshop for state chairmen and secretaries, called on the government to invest more in the sector by increasing education financing to meet internationally recommended benchmarks of six per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 20 per cent of national budget.

The event, organised by NUT in partnership with Education International (EI) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), also witnessed the formal launch of the “Go public, fund education campaign,” in Nigeria, a global call for adequate funding of education and the teaching profession to ensure the provision of qualitative learning for all.

Amba said the union decided to embark on the campaign for funding and protection of the right to learning through provision of free, inclusive and equitable quality public education for all.

He said the union is not unaware of the fact that the National Policy on Education provided for the participation of private providers to complement government’s efforts, but frowned against unchecked commercialisation of the sector, and activities of non-state actors that often trample on the rights of both teachers and learners.

Amba said government must adequately invest in the sector and the teaching profession, to ensure protection and right of every child to education.

He said: “Budgetary allocation to education over the years has remained a far cry from the internationally recommended benchmarks of six per cent GDP and at least 15 to 20 per cent of national budget.”

Citing United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report, which puts over 18 million children out-of-school in the basic education sub-sector in Nigeria, Amba pointed out that available statistics from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) showed that there is a shortage of 194,876 teachers in the country’s public primary schools.

This situation, he noted, has left public education dysfunctional with a myriad of challenges antithetical to the country’s quest for the enthronement of a functional system that would promote the attainment of national goals and development.

“One major threat to the right to education is the increasing trade and investment agreements, and the use of market mechanisms in the provision of education.”

He lamented that the failure of government to invest in quality public education, and subsequent reliance on private providers to fill existing gaps in the public education system, resulted in the proliferation of private schools across the country.

According to UBEC, there are 91,252 basic private schools, as against 79,777 public schools in the country.

“The upsurge in the activities of non-state actors is also promoted by international financial institutions and development partners, as well as the failure of government to regulate the operations of these for-profit private providers.”

He stated that the country’s continuous dependence on private providers of education can cause a decline in public investment in the sector, thereby weakening efforts to strengthen and expand provision of free, inclusive and equitable quality education for all in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4).

Amba said: “The increasing participation of non-state actors with profit motive has turned education into a tradable commodity sold to learners, who are considered to be the customers, thereby denying the less-privileged, disadvantaged and vulnerable, especially the girl-child, children with disabilities and those living in the rural areas, access to quality learning.”

He emphasised that a free quality public education is key to the sustainable development and future prosperity of Nigeria and its citizens.

Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, acknowledged the challenges being faced in the sector, noting, however, that the current administration of President Bola Tinubu is doing all it could to fix the sector.

He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to teachers’ welfare, noting that education standard cannot be higher than the quality of teachers in the system.

Keynote speaker, Dr Dennis Sinyolo, in his virtual presentation, expressed regrets that Nigeria was estimated to have the highest number of out-of-school children globally.

Sinyolo, who is the Regional Director, Education International, Ghana, called for more investment in the sector, improvement in the welfare of teachers, and replacement of the chalkboard with smart board through deployment of technology.