UBEC warns SUBEBs, others against shoddy execution of projects

The Federal Government is set to crack down on substandard school building cross the country, urging stakeholders, including the State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), to ensure quality in the delivery of school building projects.

Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Boards (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi, who disclosed this at a training programme for staff of the commission’s Department of Physical Planning on enhancing quality delivery of projects using simple tools for on-the-spot assessment at project sites, said the agency would no longer condone the shoddy execution of projects, and warned contractors on the risks of delivering substandard school infrastructure in the country.

Bobboyi also disclosed that the commission would deploy monitors to frequently find out about happenings on construction sites. He noted that educational infrastructures are sensitive projects that must be handled with the ultimate sense of responsibility so as not to risk the lives of children and staff of the institutions.

Making reference to cases of recent building collapse in schools, Bobboyi, who expressed regrets over the incident, urged state governments to take proactive steps in ensuring that contractors handling school building projects adhere strictly to specifications. He said: “We are dealing with a very strategic sector, children who are between the ages of five and 12 and very vulnerable in any building collapse.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that we take all necessary steps to build school infrastructures that are solid and can stand the test of time,” he stated.

According to him, over the years, the commission has had an elaborate monitoring system as far as the construction of school infrastructure is concerned.