The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has implemented measures to strengthen School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) as part of efforts to tackle the issue of 10.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria.
The Commission highlighted the critical role SBMCs play in boosting school enrollment and ensuring effective management of schools within their communities.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of a two-day capacity-building workshop for SBMC members nationwide, the immediate past Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, stated that the initiative provided a foundation for establishing a national platform to enhance SBMC operations across the country.
Bobboyi said he believed that the two-day engagement would ultimately enhance the visibility and impact of SBMCs, thus making government officials, educators, and community members come together for an inclusive approach toward basic education.
Read Also: Enugu governor hails Lookman, Nnadozie, Super Falcons on CAF awards wins
He said: “I am gladdened by the development and outcome of this meeting where participants have been trained on the rudiments of SBMC operations and are ready to take this further by selecting officers to spearhead the formation of the national structure for SBMCs.
“To this end, UBEC has worked tirelessly in strengthening school communities in implementing the School Based Management principles and ensuring effective operations of SBMCs at the school level.
“UBEC’s effort in this direction is intended to transform our schools into hubs of community engagement and empowerment.”
Bobboyi added that through collaborative effort in the two-day engagement, significant efforts have been made in improving knowledge of the decentralisation practices in basic education delivery, the school-based management concept, and also laid a solid foundation for the national structure for SBMCs in Nigeria.
He said the Commission is supporting SBMCs efforts and giving them the necessary backing for success, noting that as stakeholders in building a better future for the children there was the need to re-enforce the commitment to the ideals of the School Based Management System by working relentlessly to ensure that every child in Nigeria gets access to quality education, with strong, effective, and resourceful SBMCs to support them.
Director, Social Mobilisation, UBEC, Dr. Ossom Ossom noted that SBMCs are critical stakeholders in improving the quality and inclusiveness of Universal Basic Education (UBE) delivery.
Ossom expressed his excitement and satisfaction with the vision to establish a national body with the SBMC chairmen across the country.
He noted that over the years, the commission has observed numerous organisations working at the grassroots level, and from this, it has concluded that if SBMCs can function effectively at the grassroots, they could certainly succeed at the national level.
According to him, it is this reasoning that prompted the Commission to give the green light for the establishment of SBMCs at the national level.
He said: “Today, we have successfully elected national officials who are equipped to lead the SBMCs on a national scale.”