The Nation Newspaper

Tag: UBEC

  • Osun employs 4,330 teachers

    Osun employs 4,330 teachers

    •To spend N400m on WAEC fees

    The Osun State government has employed 4,330 teachers to fill vacancies in public schools.

    Chairman of the State Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Felix Awofisayo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday that 2,330 teachers were recruited by SUBEB for elementary and middle schools and 2,000 for secondary schools by the Teachers Establishment and Pensions Office.

    Awofisayo said letters had been issued to the teachers and warned them against rejecting postings to rural areas.

    He said Governor Rauf Aregbesola had increased the grants to elementary and middle schools, adding: “Salaries and allowances, including Teachers Special Allowance, are promptly paid as directed by the governor. The state is partnering agencies of the Federal Government to improve education.

    “The state has paid its counterpart fund to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) till 2012 and received its matching grant from UBEC till 2012.”

    Also yesterday, the Permanent Secretary, Lawrence Oyeniran, said the government budgeted N400 million for the West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) fees of 32,075 pupils.

    He spoke in Osogbo while defending the ministry’s 2014 budget before the Committee on Finance and Appropriation.

    Oyeniran said N350 million was budgeted for bursary to final year students of higher institutions and N100 million for scholarships to Master’s students.

     

  • I shall be transparent, says UBEC chief

    The new Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Dikko Suleiman, yesterday promised to be transparent in his dealings.

    He also promised to ensure that the education sector regained its lost glory.

    The UBEC chief called for an accelerated intervention in the commission to enable it achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA) goals by 2015 and beyond.

    Suleiman spoke in Abuja when he assumed office.

    He reiterated the need to continue the President’s transformation agenda at the commission.

    The UBEC chief noted that his appointment came at a time when over 9 million school-aged children were out of school and states were facing low grants for education.

    He said this meant there was lot of hard work ahead.

    Suleioman said: “I am conscious that the position in which I have been called to fill, though sufficient to satisfy the loftiest ambition, is surrounded by Herculean tasks.

    “Happily, however, in the performance of my new duties, I shall be guided by honest purpose, execute diligently and implement the UBEC mandate, which is in the interest of the Nigerian child, the manifold duties devolved upon me with high degree of transparency.

    “For the education sub-sector to regain its lost glory, let us strive hard to finish the work we are in, to build up the nation’s basic educational needs. This I accept in the spirit of the UBEC motto: Education for All is the Responsibility of All.

    President Goodluck Jonathan approved the appointment of Dr Suleiman as the UBEC Executive Secretary last Thursday.

    Suleiman took over from Prof. Rashid Aderinoye, who had been on acting capacity following the retirement of Prof. Charles Onocha, who also retired on acting capacity.

  • Group fights illiteracy in Yobe

    After an initial postponement of its campaign for the school enrolment in the Northeast, the 1 GAME Campaigns, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has renewed its drive to end the spate of school-age children roaming the streets of Yobe State as beggars.

    The NGO’s earlier scheduled campaign was postponed because of the deadly attack on students at the College of Agriculture, Gujba by gunmen operating in the Northeast.

    Speaking at the commencement of the programme in Damaturu, the state capital, Project Development Coordinator, 1 GAME Campaigns, Agafi Kunduli, explained the essence of having a campaign on school enrolment.

    Kunduli said that the campaign, which is a replica of those held in Gombe and Borno states, was aimed at encouraging enrolment of children into schools, especially Almajiris in the state.

    “We want to cut illiteracy level in the North-East region to the lowest level. Our objective is to ensure that every Nigerian child has access to education which is the greatest tool we can use to defeat violence and ignorance.

    “This is the same state that, in recent months, had seen hundreds of innocent people killed by militants who campaign against what we have come here to do. But if we get all of our children in school, the militants will have no child to recruit, and the killings would stop.

    “Just as we are doing in Borno and Gombe states, we are getting everyone here in Yobe involved. Political leaders, community leaders, women leaders, youths and village heads will all play vital roles. We want to ensure that every child is in school and learning,” he said.

    Continuing, he said that as it was the case in Gombe, the campaign in Yobe State will involve airing of promotional messages on enrolment in the electronic media, advocacy visits to traditional, religious, community, women and youth leaders, town hall meetings and a door-to-door campaign for school enrolment.”

    The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) estimates that over 220,745 children of school age in Yobe State roam the streets as beggars without access to education. Only Taraba State with 63,168, Adamawa with 141,951 and Gombe with 123,923 have lesser amount of street children among states in the North-East region than Yobe.

    Non-school attendance is highest among North-Eastern states with only 49 per cent of school age boys and 37 per cent of girls of the same age attend schools.

  • Fed Govt, UBEC hail Ekiti on education delivery

    Fed Govt, UBEC hail Ekiti on education delivery

    The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the Federal Ministry of Education yesterday hailed the Ekiti State government on the establishment of the Early Childhood Development Centre.

    The Acting Executive Secretary, UBEC Education Department, Prof. Charles Onocha and the Director of the Basic and Secondary Education Department, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. D.C. Uwaezuole, spoke yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, at the inauguration of the Centre.

    Others at the inauguration, which was performed by Governor Kayode Fayemi, include the governor’s wife, Bisi; House of Assembly Speaker Adewale Omirin; Head of Service Bunmi Famosaya; Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Ganiyu Owolabi and the wife of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Olori Abosede Adejugbe.

    Onocha and Uwaezuole urged Fayemi to introduce the project to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), using the State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM).

    The SPRM was designed by the NGF to accelerate development in states through periodic reviews of progress on policies, plans and programmes.

    It enables governors to share experiences, as well as reinforce commendable and innovative practices.

    Ekiti Deputy Governor Prof. Modupe Adelabu, who doubles as the chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), said the administration was determined to lay a solid foundation for quality education.

    She said the rehabilitation of schools and the provision of furniture were part of efforts to improve enrolment in public schools.

    Explaining that Agenda 4 of the Eight-Point Agenda focuses on Education and Human Capital Development, Mrs. Adelabu said: “This Early Childhood Development Education Centre is aimed at achieving this goal because the children brought up in the centre will invariably graduate to the government primary school close to the Centre.”

    She said the Centre, situated on the premises of the State Secretariat, will make life easier for nursing mothers in the civil service.

    Onocha, who was represented by Prof. Rasheed Aderinoye, described the establishment of the Centre as a landmark in education.

    He said: “The inauguration of this Mega ECD Centre today is noteworthy, as Ekiti State and SUBEB, in particular, have complied with the UBEC policy. The occasion shows the commitment of the governor and his deputy, who I understand oversees SUBEB.

    “The Mega Centre undoubtedly will be a reference point for the development of other centres in the states. It will also be an initiative to be emulated by other states.

    “I call on other SUBEBs to emulate Ekiti State in giving priority to Early Childhood Development by providing quality infrastructure that are age-appropriate.”

    Uwaezuole, who was represented by Mrs. Sherifat Adaba, said: “Your Excellency, by setting up this centre, you have demonstrated that the future nurturing of the Nigerian child, albeit Ekiti children, is one of the priorities of your forward-looking government.

    “Early Childhood Education is the foundation for early learning and this explains why a policy on Early Childhood Development was developed to encourage government’s participation in early childhood education delivery.”

  • So, who stole UBEC’s N787m?

    So, who stole UBEC’s N787m?

    Last week’s judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja freeing four directors of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and an expatriate contractor, charged with embezzling N787million of the commission’s fund, is very depressing. In discharging and acquitting the accused persons, Justice Adamu Bello, ruled in favour of ‘a no case’ submission made by the defence, after the prosecution had closed its case. The trial judge held that the accused persons were mere scapegoats, insisting that it was members of the board at the time of the award of contract in 2005 that should have been charged for the offences.

    The prosecuting agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) is reported to have disagreed with the judgment and has decided to appeal. The discharged directors of UBEC are, Molkat Mutfwang, Michael Aule, Andrew Ekpunobi and Professor Bridget Sokam; while the Amercian contractor is Alexander Cozma. The two companies allegedly used to siphon the money are Intermarkets USA LLC and Intermarkets Nigeria. According to the judge, the real culprits are free, while the above charged persons have no case to answer. He held that the accused persons were being victimised.

    The case brought by the EFCC against the accused persons was that they were complicit in an illegal diversion of the contract sum for the supply of learning facilities to all secondary schools in Nigeria. Now, with the judgment, unless upturned on appeal, nobody would be held accountable for stealing such a humongous public fund, meant for the upgrading of our schools. We say without equivocation that such a development is totally unacceptable, and we urge the office of the Attorney General to ensure that those who stole our common patrimony are made to answer for their criminality.

    The public, no doubt, is left confounded, at the sad turn of events. Both the prosecuting EFCC commission and the judgment acknowledge that N669 million, representing 85 percent of the contract sum, was unlawfully paid up-front by UBEC, without the approval of the Federal Executive Council, as required by law. It was also established that further sums of N41 million and N16 million, not within the contract sum, were paid to the contractor. Yet, as it is now, those docked did not do the heist. Who did?

    It will therefore be in the interest of the public to know whether the claim of the judge that the wrong parties were brought to court is true. While we have our doubts, as to how UBEC bid committee can be exculpated from a fraudulent award of contract under their nose, it is the duty of the prosecution to bring the correct parties to court. If it turns out that the wrong parties were charged to court, as held by the trial judge, then the EFCC will need to convince Nigerians that such a serious error was inadvertent.

    While the office of the Attorney General of the Federation is sorting out who is wrong between the judge and the commission, it may be helpful to quickly arraign the members of the Board of UBEC in 2005 that awarded the unlawful contracts as held by the judge. It will be unfair for such a huge sum to be lost between the tardiness of the prosecution as implied by the judge, or because a judge misdirected himself, or is swayed by untoward reasons. The sharp difference between the position of the EFCC and the judge needs to be explained.

    All concerned must remember that the future of our country is at stake. This is one sleaze that must be cracked and those guilty punished.

     

  • UBEC gives self pass mark

    The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has said it deserves a pat on the back for its transparency and accountability in the deployment of instructional materials provided by the Federal Government to states nationwide, including the the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    He said the commission last year developed a computer-based software, and used the device for a pilot test in 80 schools per state, resulting in a significant success.

    The commission made the claim in a document it released to The Nation tilted: Achievements and constrains of UBEC.

    The report said: “You will recall that at the eighth quarterly meeting in the FCT, the commission announced the pilot-testing of the developed software. The software has been pilot-tested and found to be effective. The pilot-testing was carried out in the FCT using 60 primary schools and 2 JSS per Area Council. That is, a total of 360 primary schools and 12 Junior Secondary Schools.”

    Leveraging on the success of the pilot test, a nationwide verification was carried out in the May. During the exercise, 80 schools per state except Bauchi, Lagos and Ogun, that have reached the target ratio of one textbook per pupil, were covered. In addition, Borno and Yobe states were put on hold because of security concerns.

    Further, it said the report of the exercise showed that schools in states, such as Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Cross River, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Rivers, Sokoto and Taraba, lack either library or storage facility for books. This was in addition to poor record keeping at the local government education authority or by head teachers. The commission lamented the refusal by states to hand over support funds released to them by UBEC for transportation of books to schools.

    The All-Girls and Boy-Child education initiatives, according to UBEC, are geared towards addressing the challenges of basic education delivery.

    The commission said while the former is to address the socio-cultural problems on the up-bringing of the girl- child, the latter is targeted at integration of out-of-school children from the Southeast and Southsouth states into the basic education programme.

    UBEC said it has constructed one Model Girls School each in the 13 states affected by the girl-child education syndrome; set up a technical committee to advise the commission on the programme and activities of the schools; develop a framework for ‘All-Girls’ School Initiative” for implementation as soon as construction is completed; printing and distribution of the framework for adaptation by the affected states; as well as handing over of the completed schools to host states.

    On Boy-Child education, the report said that the commission inaugurated a National Implementation Committee on out-of-school children from the Southeast and Southsouth states into the basic education programme in December last year.

    The report further said the committee, which has since started work has achieved among other things, the development of operational framework and action plan for implementing the intervention; setting up of relevant sub-committees, including advocacy and education sub-committees with emphasis on stakeholder mobilisation and curriculum development.

    “The commission has concluded the Needs Assessment survey in the Southeast and Southsouth zones. The assessment involved advocacy visits to government functionaries critical to the success of the programme. In addition, there were consultations with stakeholders to elicit reasons for the out-of-school boy-child syndrome and what these out-of-school children are currently engaged in.The assessment ascertained the manpower needs and appropriate trades required for employment in their communities.”

     

  • UBEC urges states to step up effort on Special Education

    UBEC urges states to step up effort on Special Education

    States have been urged to complement efforts of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) on Special Education.

    The Acting Executive Secretary UBEC Prof Charles Onocha spoke at the commission’s Ninth quarterly meeting with chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB) in Minna, Niger State.

    Onocha implored states to establish more Special Education schools, release more funds and create Special Education units in mainstream schools, among others.

    He said: “States should complement the efforts of the Federal Government by creating more access to basic education for children with special needs. This can be achieved through increased funding, advocacy/sensitisation, creating Special Education units/schools as well as adopting the inclusive education initiative where all children learn in the same school environment.

    A situation where a state has only one or two schools for special needs children cannot create adequate access. The inclusive initiative has to be adopted if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA) goals are to be achieved.”

    On Almajiri Education Programme (AEP) by the Federal Government, Onocha said the Almajiris who are over nine million not attending school, pose a threat to the realisation of EFA and MDGs.

    He added that with the AEP, they would be integrated into the UBEC programme, which involves 25 states. He added that the Federal Government has mandated the Commission to start recruitment of teachers.

    Out of the 25 states, Onocha said six have been penciled for advocacy visits by the Commission’s National Implementation Committee to interact with their governors; and also for capacity building of school proprietors and teachers.

    He stressed that in the implementation of the AEP, states are expected, to: “adopt and replicate the programme, including the construction of Almajiri model schools; recruit and deploy teachers to those schools; integrate Alarammas/Mallams/Proprietors into the Programme; and adopt appropriate mechanisms for the enrolment of Almajiri into the schools.

    Other conditions include to: “provide school uniforms for the enrolled pupils; include feeding as a retention strategy; maintain the infrastructural facilities and ensure the sustainability of the school.”

    Highlighting some strides taken by the commission since April this year, Onocha said UBEC has between 2005 and June 12, received N215.63 billion as matching grants and disbursed N172.04 billion to the states and FCT, which he put at 79.78 per cent access.

    According to him, the Federal Government Statutory Allocation of UBE Matching Grants to each state and FCT is 1,030,797,297.30 based on the 2013 Appropriation Act.

    He, however, said the allocation may change subject to the approval by the National Assembly on the amendment to the Appropriation ACT as requested by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He implored each SUBEB to be proactive by preparing Action Plans and sourcing for the requisite counterpart funds based on the Matching Grant, adding that the outcome of the proposed amendment, would be communicated to them, as appropriate.

    He said the commission in the interim has received N11411,974,455.88 per state (including FCT) as provisional allocation which covers the first quarter and part of second quarter of the current year.

    He therefore enjoined states to make available their counterpart funds and meet other conditions to access the allocation.

    In his breakdown of access and utilization of Special Education Fund (SEF) between 2009 and 2012, he said 13 states accessed the fund in 2012; 24 states, including the FCT in 2011; 32 states and FCT in 2010 as well as 34 states and FCT in 2009.

    Onocha said Bayelsa, Cross River, Enugu, and Kaduna defaulted in accessing the fund in 2010, while only Bayelsa and Enugu defaulted in the year 2009.

    Onocha said the commission has disbursed the 2012 SEF to 81 private providers in 27 states and the FCT.

    On Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programme, Onocha said the commission mounted various programmes through training institutions selected by the SUBEBs. He said each state received N140 million from the commission for the exercise, which was executed in 32 states including the FCT.

     

  • Education: Adamawa goes for UBEC star price

    Education: Adamawa goes for UBEC star price

    Adamawa State government is not leaving things to chance in its quest to clinch the overall best performing state’s price tag in Nigeria in educational development. The state no doubt has an enviable record of upgrading educational facilities to standard level since 2007 when Governor Murtala Nyako took office.

    The state was awarded overall best Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) performing state in Nigeria three times under Nyako. This year again the governor is aiming high for the star price to place Adamawa high among its peers.

    Forgetting the turbulent politics of the state, the governor has not forgotten to reposition the educational sector as the state in the North and, of course, the nation.

    Beginning from 2007 to date, all primary schools and secondary schools have been upgraded with standard classrooms and text books to improve the learning ability of the child. Most of these schools are one-storey buildings or two-storey types. Furnishing has remains among the best in the country – including in the area of horticulture.

    Before the current administration in Yola most schools in Jimeta – especially Capital School and Gwadabawa were dilapidated until Nyako visited these schools around 2009. Presently, if you go there now you may think these are universities because of the sheer transformation with decent and convenient environment for learning.

    That is the same picture all over the state that made UBEC award the number one position to Adamawa State in terms of educational achievement.

    In addition to the total turnaround in primary and secondary, Governor Nyako has also established ten functional new junior secondary schools across the state and ten new girls-only secondary schools.

    The government has equally established 14 skills acquisition centers with state of art  facilities while technicians across the world with relevant technological knowhow have been brought to these centers to transfer technology to students who are willing to imbibe skills. Additionally, 38 secondary schools – along with one technical and one science institution have been established, while 21 junior secondary schools have been upgraded to senior secondary school status.

    Six new boarding junior girls-only schools have been established under the Adamawa State Education Master Plan. Governor Nyako recruited 10,000 new teachers for secondary schools recently and they are dominated by non-indigenes as he gave orders that whoever was qualified should be employed. The Adamawa Education Master Plan (AEMP) has seen to the rapid development of the state.

    Improved salary structure and feeding pattern have been adopted to encourage teachers and students to learn more and teach more. He also approved some 13 newly-completed JSS as offshoot of the primary schools. KOICA model primary school was established in Mayo-Belwa and Yola South.

    Prompt payment of the UBE counterpart funds has led to massive transformation in education in Adamawa – including construction of VIP toilets across primary and secondary schools.

    Payment of annual SSCE fees for students to write their examinations is prompt for all school-age pupils. They have also been given free uniforms to encourage parents who cannot take their wards to schools because of lack of uniforms. Nyako has also established library and computer centers in all primary and secondary schools.

    Government has constructed access roads to primary and secondary schools to enable teachers and students move feely while in GMMC 88 large structures were renovated. In GSS Yola, a state-of-the-art library and computer center have been provided while renovation of structures has also been completed. Every year the government purchases science equipment for SSCE practicals.

    On account of these achievements, many eminent personalities have been pouring accolades on Nyako for his strides in the educational sector – especially when the state began to score first in UBEC. Among such personalities, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said this during his visit to Adamawa  State: “I have seen the success recorded by the Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako in the area of education and I’m impressed that education has been turned around in the state with more that 40% of the state budget going to education.

    “I want to particularly command Admiral Nyako for his vision in locating 40% percent of the revenue to education sector. I have seen modest, laudable and ambitious development in education that I cannot see anywhere in the North. This lofty transformation of education in Adamawa Sate is quite impressive”.

    Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State during his visit to Adamawa State said: “I have to copy the skills acquisition programmes of Governor Murtala Nyako so that I will implement it in Bauchi State. I am happy with what I have seen what Governor Nyako doing for the people of Adamawa State”.

    Another person who poured encomiums on the governor is the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, who said: “Adamawa State is the best performing state in the country in terms of education because of what I have seen on ground. No wonder the state has been winning the number one position every year from UBEC and I believe that Adamawa State under the governor is healthy in the area of education.”

  • UBEC: 10m children out of school

    The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has said over 10 million school-age children in Nigeria are not in school.

    UBEC’s Acting Executive Secretary, Prof. Charles Onocha, spoke in Asaba, the Delta State capital, at the beginning of the “Needs Assessment Survey for Integration of Out-of-School Children from the South-South and Southeast Geo-Political Zones”.

    He said: “This class of out-of-school children comprises the almajiri, largely in the North; the out-of-school girl-child, mostly in the North and some southern states; as well as the boy-child school drop-outs in the South-South and Southeast zones.”

    Onocha said the assessment brought to the fore the determination of the UBEC to address the out-of-school phenomenon by ensuring inclusiveness in basic education delivery and guaranteeing that every school-age child gets unhindered access to basic education.

    According to him, the Federal Government realised the enormous impact of out-of-school syndrome on the nation’s youthful population and has redoubled its efforts toward reversing the trend.

  • UBEC ranks Southeast states low

    UBEC ranks Southeast states low

    The five Southeast states are not doing well in the implementation of the nine-year Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme, says Director of Quality Assurance, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Abuja, Dr Chukwuma Agomoh.

    Charging the governors of Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Imo and Ebonyi to revamp their education systems, at the Southeast Education Summit held at the Concorde Hotel, Owerri, Agomoh counselled them to learn from Rivers State which topped the UBEC good performance ranking for 2010/2011.

    Rivers beat Katsina and Adamawa states as the Best Performing State in the implementation of UBEC programmes in the country.

    In contrast, Agomoh said the Southeast states were nowhere to be found on the UBEC rankings – with two of them, Ebonyi and Imo at the bottom. Imo came 36th, Ebonyi came 37th among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    He said this was happening because the Southeast governments did not implement the budget properly.

    “The Southeastern states are nowhere to be found in the UBEC rankings, both in the good performance and teacher training. The Southeast governors should rise to the challenge of taking education serious in the geo-political zone by increasing the budget in education. Most commissioners for education in the Southeast do not implement the amount they budget to education,” he said.

    Dr Agomoh, however, praised the Rivers State government for its investment in the education sector.

    He said UBEC has launched a campaign to boost boy-child enrolment in the east, while the girl child campaign is on-going in the North.

    Former Minister for Information and Communications, Prof Dora Akunyili in her address delivered by her husband, Dr Chike Akunyili, lamented the dearth of infrastructure in southeast schools, and decried the high rate of male dropout in the region which she attributed to the get-rich syndrome among the youth.

    Dr Akunyili noted that the region cannot make any progress until they start honouring people who have made great contributions to educational development.

    In a paper titled: “Funding, a Vital Tool for Educational Development in the Southeast Geo-Political Region,” the Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Dame Alice Lawrence-Nemi, noted that the much needed transformation of the education sector can only be achieved through adequate funding.

    The Commissioner, represented by the Director Higher Education, Mae Solomon, said: “Education is the only channel we can use to transform the Southeast geo-political zone. Through the provision of qualitative and sound education, the zone can take back its true position in the country. We can recall that graduates from this region dominated the major positions in the civil service, corporate organisations and the military in the 60s because of the zeal of the youths to get educated.”

    Meanwhile the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, NUC, Prof Julius Okojie represented by Prof Akaneren Essien, said the commission is always ready to contribute to the education advancement in the Southeast zone.

    Okojie, said the NUC will continue to keep its doors open to state universities in the region and promised to organise interactive forum for university proprietors (the state governors).