Millions of pounds of UK government aid to Nigerian schools have failed to produce any major improvement in pupil learning, an independent watchdog says.
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact yesterday said the aid scheme was being undermined by a shortage of effective teachers and a lack of local support.
So far £102m has been spent in 10 Nigerian states, with a further £126m committed to 2019.
The UK government said the report had a limited focus but would be reviewed.
The Department for International Development’s (Dfid) education programme is operating “in a very challenging environment, with too few effective teachers, poor infrastructure and unpredictable state funding all contributing to poor learning outcomes for pupils in basic education”, the ICAI said in its critical report.
“Our review indicates no major improvement in pupil learning.”
Using a traffic light rating system, the ICAI rated the scheme as amber-red – the second-lowest – which indicates “significant improvements” were required.
It found that around a third of the eligible children – an estimated 3.7 million – were still not in school, while those that were received little by way of education.
“We are concerned by the very high numbers of out-of-school children and the very poor learning outcomes in nine of the 10 Nigerian states supported by Dfid,” it said.
It said as a result of British aid, a seven-year-old Nigerian girl could be learning in a new school where the teacher had been trained with UK funding, but she still might leave education not knowing how to read or write.
The UK aid goes to 10 of Nigeria’s 36 states, but a Dfid spokesman responded: “This was a limited inquiry in that the team only visited 1 per cent of schools, most of which were in only one state in Nigeria, and they did not take into account the most recent evidence of the project’s progress.
“However, we will carefully review the report’s recommendations and respond in due course.”
DFID has spent £102 million to date, with a further £126 million committed to 2019. It supports 10 of Nigeria’s 36 States through two programmes: the UNICEF-led Girls’ Education Programme (GEP); andthe Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN), delivered by a Cambridge Education-led consortium.
ICAI engaged with over 900 local people, including pupils, parents, grandparents, teachers, head teachers and community leaders. They identified only limited benefits from the education provided. Around a third of eligible children in the ten States are out of school and ICAI found no major improvement in pupil learning:
“GEP and ESSPIN have helped to create ten-year State education sector plans which are neither realistic nor affordable. Insufficient and erratic State funding leaves the education system lacking infrastructure and other essentials necessary to improve learning outcomes.
“Key education building blocks – such as adequate facilities, teachers who are present and committed, routine pupil attendance and appropriate curricula and teaching materials – are often missing from schools.
“GEP and ESSPIN are delivering similar programmes but the ESSPIN approach appears more likely to succeed in the long term,” the organisation said.
It added: “There have been some successes, including support for female teachers and school-based management committees and an innovative approach to Qur’anic schools, attended by most Muslim children in northern Nigeria. Implementation issues, however, are limiting the impact on pupil learning. “
Its recommendations are: “DFID should create a single education programme in 2014 focussing rigorously on basic reading, writing and arithmetic in the early years of primary schooling and building on the lessons learned, with aligned initiatives for teacher training and infrastructure.
“ DFID should work with its partners and each participating State to secure a clear agreement about the policy changes and financial contributions required to improve enrolment and learning and to introduce effective financial management and resource planning.
“DFID should work with UNICEF to achieve significant improvement in the performance of GEP over the next 12 months.
“DFID should address implementation issues limiting impact through the Female Trainee Teachers Scholarship Scheme, School-Based Management Committees and Qur’anic schools.”
Graham Ward CBE, ICAI Chief Commissioner, said: “The communities we spoke to in Nigeria want their children to become self-reliant by learning to read and write. Our review, however, indicates no major improvement in pupil learning, with significant numbers of children out of school.
In our view, DFID’s programmes will only become sustainable when they can routinely help to unlock State governments’ budgets to fund the required improvements both adequately and equitably.”
