UBEC promises to provide quality education for Nigerian children

The Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Aisha Garba, has promised to ensure that every Nigerian child has access to quality education in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

In her first quarterly meeting with Executive Chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) in Abuja, Garba said the Commission will strive towards strengthening basic education by fostering effective collaboration at national and state levels.

According to her, there had been “poor coordination and weak partnership between critical stakeholders in the sector with inconsistent collaboration among UBEC, SUBEBs, and State Ministries of Education, resulting in inefficiencies, poor monitoring, and reduced impact of educational interventions.”

She emphasised that it was imperative to “address persistent challenges such as finances, infrastructure, quality education, and relevant learning materials, shortage of teachers and conducive environment for teaching and learning” adding that the meeting provided “a unique opportunity to collectively evaluate our progress, identify challenges, and chart a new pathway towards achieving our shared goal of an efficient and effective basic education system in Nigeria.”

The UBEC boss recalled her earlier years as an International Development education officer when she visited schools in remote villages all over the country, and stated that “the poor conditions in many of our schools required all stakeholders to be solution-oriented, action-driven, positive and committed to building a stronger, more efficient system for universal basic education in our country.”

Declaring the meeting open, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, represented by his Senior Special Assistant (SSA), Dr. Ismaila Adiatu, assured the SUBEB chairmen of the Federal Government’s commitment to promoting quality education to inspire renewed hope, with strong emphasis on prioritizing quality basic education.

He emphasised that the development of the foundational level was essential for a positive impact on the other tiers of the educational system, which was why the Federal Ministry of Education was deeply committed to improving teacher quality, enhancing the school environment, ensuring the availability of adequate instructional materials, and implementing an effective quality assurance evaluation system.

The meeting, with the theme ‘Strengthening collaboration for quality basic education delivery’, was also attended by members of UBEC management, SUBEB chairmen from all 36 states of the Federation, FCT UBEB chairman and representatives of International Development Partners.

The meeting witnessed presentations from the UBEC Executive Secretary, sub-deans of SUBEBs, and Commission’s directors as well as group discussions and reflections across priority UBE pillars.