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Tag: Universal Basic Education Commission

  • Ekiti pays N3.3b UBEC fund

    •Fayemi distributes N30m instructional materials

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi says his administration has paid N3.3 billion as the state’s counterpart funding for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) intervention projects.

    Fayemi made this known in Ado- Ekiti during the flag off of the distribution of working and instructional materials worth N30 million to public schools across the state. The initiative is to further enhance leaning.

    Fayemi, who highlighted some of the investments of his administration in the education sector, listed the approval for the payment of N146 million as allowances to teachers, payment of part of the outstanding salary arrears and allowances owed by the last administration, as well as approval for the payment of rural posting and core subject allowances, among others.

    He said these steps were geared towards making teaching and learning conducive “in affirmation of our professed determination in restoring the values of Ekiti”.

    “It saddens my heart to hear that primary schools in Ekiti State have not been given instructional and working materials since 2016. This is not a good way to achieve effective teaching and learning by our esteem teachers and pupils. The importance of instructional materials in any classroom academic process is more than meet the ordinary eye,” Fayemi said.

    “It is to improve pupils’ knowledge, abilities and skills, monitor the assimilation of information, contribute to the overall development of the pupils and subsequently improve pupils learning outcomes and achievement,” the governor added.

    He said the materials distributed include 17 units of motorcycles, 2,000 cartons of chalk, 450 cartons of red biro, 450 cartons of blue biro, 13,000 copies of diaries; 13,000 copies of registers; 2,000 copies of time books and 150 building blocks.

    Others are photocopiers, 75 counting cards, 100 mathematical set, 100 world globe and 100 sets of plastic round tables and chairs.

    Fayemi said efforts were in top gear to supply computers for e-learning and other relevant instructional materials to enable public schools compete with other states.

    The Permanent Secretary in the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Adefolakemi Oladimeji, thanked the government for providing an enabling environment for teachers to work and prioritise their welfare by releasing money for the payment of housing loan.

  • Minister to states: access UBEC fund now

    MINISTER for Education Mallam Adamu Adamu has urged state government to access and properly utilise funds made available through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to improve education.

    He said the Federal Government has sustained the funding of the basic education sub-sector through UBEC as well as supporting state governments in the discharge of their basic education obligations.

    Adamu stated this in Benin City, Edo State capital, while delivery a keynote address at the Edo Summit to mark the second year anniversary of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    According to the minister, the Federal Government has between 2015-2018, through UBEC, allocated N164,032,877,186 as matching grants to states, N34.9 billion as teachers professional development, N52.4 billion for instructional materials and N6.9 billion for special education.

    Adamu, who was represented by UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, noted that Obaseki has keyed into the two strategic pillars of the nation’s educational plan.

    The minister hailed the governor for making Edo to record the lowest number of children out-of-primary school.

    The minister warned unqualified teachers to either acquire the requisite qualification or disengage from teaching profession on or before December 31, 2019.

    His words: “We must acknowledge the issue of out-of-school children, which has over the decades being a key challenge to the effective delivery of basic education in Nigeria.

    “With over 10 million pupils outside our primary school system, it is essential for all stakeholders to sustain their efforts in ensuring that these figures are substantially brought down. It is essential for us to break this vicious circle.”

    Obaseki said his reform in the basic education led to the introduction of what he termed the Edo BEST.

    The governor said over 7000 teachers were trained on pedagogy and that the quality of teaching has improved in public schools.

  • Emir of Kano calls for use of local language to teach

    The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, on Wednesday, advised the Federal Government to institute a policy that allows the use of local languages to teach in Nigerian schools.

    Sanusi, who gave the advice at a two-day Northern Nigeria Traditional Leaders Conference on Out-of-School Children, in Kaduna, said that the use of only English language in teaching has contributed to low educational development in the country.

    The conference was organised by Federal Ministry of Education, Universal Basic Education Commission, National Commission for Mass Education and Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development in collaboration with UNICEF.

    According to him, the national policy on education that allows only English language as a means of communication in classrooms is defective and responsible for low assimilation among students.

    “English as a language yes, but English as the only medium of teaching and learning is wrong and counterproductive.

    “You don’t need English language to be a doctor, you don’t need it to be engineer or anything one wants to be.”

    He stressed that teaching with mother tongue would go a long way in improving the rate of assimilation and make teaching and learning interesting and productive.

    Sanusi also pointed out the lack of commitment to improving the quality of education by all levels of governments had manifested over the years in the paltry budgetary allocation made to education by all levels of government.

    He said that only seven per cent of the 2018 federal budget was allocated to education against the recommended 26 per cent.

    “This is a clear indication that education was the least of the Nigeria’s priority. This is quite disturbing.

    “Our political leaders must be held accountable if they fail to meet up with their responsibility of providing education, quality health services and other development aspiration of the people.

    “If a sitting governor cannot ensure that his people are educated, healthy and empowered to live a productive life then he has no business being in governance.”

    Earlier, 16-year-old Tabitha Emmanuel, from Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno, while sharing her experience stressed that access to quality education for all should be of concern to everyone.

    Read Also : Education is antidote to extremism, terrorism – Buhari

    Emmanuel said that Nigerian societies cannot thrive when millions of children have no opportunity to access education that can make them productive members of their communities.

    “I recalled that sometime ago, Boko Haram sent a letter to my community directing that no girl should be sent to school.

    “They later came and burnt my school and destroyed my village, killed many people, took women and abducted more than 200 girls into captivity.

    “I was forced to stay at home for six months. My future became bleak and life became difficult.

    “But as peace returned to the troubled North East, I was able to complete my primary and secondary school and I am looking forward to a brighter future.”

    She pointed out that there are still huge number of girls and children who do not have access to quality education, and appealed to community leaders to recognised that children are important machinery in shaping a country’s future for greatness.

    According to her, there must be collective effort to ensure that schools are safe, gender based and other barriers to girl child education are addressed.

  • Kaduna SUBEB to spend N337.19m on teacher training in 2018

    Kaduna SUBEB to spend N337.19m on teacher training in 2018

    Amidst crisis over the quality of teachers in public schools, Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board ( SUBEB ) plans to spend N337.19 million on teacher training in 2018.

    The figure is contained in the state’s 2018 budget obtained from the state Planning and Budget Commission.

    The state has recently sacked about 22, 000 primary school teachers over poor performance, generating protest and strike by the Nigeria Union of Teachers.

    It indicated that, “N337.19 million was earmarked for leadership and capacity training for school head teachers and assistants; jolly phonics training for 1,200 teachers and training of 200 Almajiri school teachers on literacy and numeracy skills.

    “Others are training on use of Teachers Guide; training of 230 care givers on pre-primary curriculum; training of class teachers on reading methodology and post training impact survey.

    Read also: Kwara SUBEB to upgrade 70-year old school

    “70 associate counsellors from the 23 local government areas will be trained on strategies for effective counselling skills in basic education; and training of 100 quality assurance evaluators.

    “Other training includes evaluators and principals workshop on evaluating and student learning; evaluating and tracking student; workshop on coordination, monitoring and reporting and impact assessment on training of inclusive education teachers on Braille and sign language.”

    The board has a total budget of N6.93 billion out of which N6.75 billion was for capital N184.52 million for recurrent expenditure.

    This represents 100 per cent increase from the N3.36 billion allocated to the board for capital and recurrent expenditure in the 2017 budget.

    A breakdown of the figure shows that N3.53 billion would be spent on the construction of classrooms, offices and toilets for primary schools, while N1.89 billion was for building classrooms and laboratories in junior secondary schools.

    The board would also spend N15.1 million on the construction of Early Child Care Development Education games village in nine primary schools in nine local government areas.

    It indicated that N821.27 million would go into procurement of furniture, materials for skills acquisition, teaching and learning aids, computers, magnetic boards, mattresses, sporting and instructional materials.

    “N143.58 million was allocated for monitoring and supervision of projects, while N13.06 million was for maintenance of project monitoring vehicles.”

    The state would receive the 2016 Universal Basic Education Commission ( UBEC ) Special Education Intervention fund amounting to N6.38 billion during the year.

    It would also receive N340.87 from UBEC Intervention on Teachers’ Professional Development and N32.72 million from the Inclusive Education Trust Fund.

    NAN

  • Lagos takes over UBEC-funded school

    The Lagos State government has taken possession of a boarding school facility in Agunfoye, Igbogbo area of Ikorodu.

    The school was built and equipped by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Abuja to serve as a boarding secondary school for girls, and handed over to Lagos State to run.

    The school, now called Girls Junior Model College, Agunfoye, has buildings for classrooms, ICT laboratory, dining room and hostels, all equipped with requisite facilities to function, including classroom/ICT/dining hall furniture, bunks, mattresses, fans, and the like.

    Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mr Adesina Odeyemi, who inspected the school last week with senior officials of the ministry to assess the facilities in readiness for resumption, was told eight teachers had resumed at the school and 21 parents had visited to make enquiries about admission.

    Though the hostels, which have eight rooms each, have been equipped with bunk beds to accommodate 256 pupils (16 per room), the officials observed that the rooms could not accommodate 16 pupils each as it would leave little or no room for movement.

    The Permanent Secretary also noted that the ceiling fans should be replaced with wall fans to avoid injury to pupils, who sleep on the top bunk.  He said about 100 pupils would be admitted as pioneer pupils.  However, a list of admitted pupils pasted close to the school gate had 119 names on it.

  • ECCE: Experts crave special unit, schools

    Early Childhood Association in Nigeria (ECAN) has said the Federal Government needs to do more to enhance the practice of Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE).

    The body said integrating ECCE into policy documents such as the National Policy on Education, Minimum Standard for the Establishment of ECCE Centre, integrated Early Childhood Development, NCCE minimum standard and one year pre-primary curriculum, among others, were steps in the right direction.

    Nonetheless, the group believes that a special unit set up by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to oversee the running of ECCE centres and programmes nationwide, in addition to special schools for training ECCE teachers, would also help.

    The group’s suggestions were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of its five-day conference held at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), in which participants also called for the adoption of the name ‘caregivers’ instead of ‘teachers’ for adults trained to handle children in their early years.

    The communiqué signed by national president and national secretary, Prof Ajike Osanyin and Muyiwa Ashimolowo, advocated character education in preschools.

    Members also admonished governments to urgently, ‘increase its supervisory and regulatory activities to curb incessant inappropriate practices in public and private schools.”

    Professor of Science Education Adekunle Solomon Olorundare, from UNILORIN, who delivered a keynote address with the theme: “Repositioning early childhood education in Nigeria for global competitiveness: A peek into global best practice” said of all education approach, play serves as the best way for a child to develop, exercise and experience fundamental life skills. Therefore play should be a significant feature of all curriculums, Olorundare argued.

    He urged Nigeria to take cue from countries such as Finland, Netherland, New Zealand and Turkey which renewed their commitment to ECCE.

    He said: “Federal, state, and local governments should put measures in place to ensure standards. This is because the pre-primary level is bedrock for a smooth transmission to the primary school. Definitely, if the foundation of a house is faulty, it will naturally affect the superstructure. The government’s policy ironically failed in this aspect.”

    “Since governments have subtly ‘abandoned’ pre-primary education in the hands of private entrepreneurs, graduate teachers are unwilling to take up jobs as early childhood care givers because of low wages, job security associated with the private institutions and poor morale and recognition.

    “This is because the government is failing in its responsibility of placing premium on early childhood teacher education even though its policies are specified and laudable. Government must initiate mechanisms to regulate and control private establishment and operation of pre-primary education in the country. It is only when classroom teachers are trained under specific and specialized courses that lend themselves to early childhood education that they would acquire pedagogical orientations that would assist them to develop skills to be deployed to stimulate and sustain children’s interest in learning”

    One of the presenters, Dr Babaijide Abidogun from Lagos State University, advocated emphasis of use of mother tongue or language of the immediate environment.

    Osanyin said the theme could not have come at a better time, considering the urgent task of repositioning the Nigerian child for global competitiveness in the face of scarce resources and recession.

    She noted that access to ECCE could eradicate global poverty and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

    “Eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development therefore requires that significant attention be paid to early childhood; it therefore means that ECAN members must be more than ever be readily committed to issues affecting children and feature significantly in policies in this regard,” she said.

     

  • Dogara: NASS will raise teachers’ retirement age to 65

    Dogara: NASS will raise teachers’ retirement age to 65

    …To upgrade working conditions

    The National Assembly will increase the retirement age of Teachers in the country from 60 to 65 years to retain more experienced teachers in public schools, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said.

    Dogara who spoke when he received a delegation from the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in his office, he said the House supports an upward review of teachers’ retirement age for Nigerian children to benefit from.

    His words: “We have done it for the tertiary institutions and the judiciary, so nothing should stop us from taking the bull by the horns. They say that wine gets better with age, it was the same consideration that motivated us to raise that of university lecturers, raise that of judges. So this is something we can pursue.

    “Thankfully, it doesn’t require constitutional amendment; it is something we can achieve by amending the existing law. That is the responsibility of the parliament and we assure you that we will do something about that so that the benefit that comes with experience and wisdom will not be lost,” he stated.

    According to him, the welfare and working condition of teachers must also be upgraded to enable Nigerian citizens compete with the global world and produce citizens that can achieve development that the country seeks.

    He said: “If we don’t have people who will sacrifice their time and energy to impart knowledge on our children, then like I said, we have lost the future. This government which is a government of change must be prepared to change the narrative by ensuring that teachers are motivated and the condition in which they work are conducive at all levels, so that they can deliver on their professional calling.”

    The union’s request for salaries of teachers to be handed over to state governments or paid from first-line charge from the federation account, the Speaker said, should be channeled through the Universal Basic Education Commission to the Constitution Review committee of the House of Representatives for consideration.

    The National President of NUT, Comrade Micheal Alogba Olukoya, earlier in his speech, appealed that the union prefers such an arrangement.

    He said: ” We want the responsibilities of paying the salaries of Teachers be handed over to State Governments in which case the salaries component of the revenue allocation of the Local Governments will have to be transferred to the states and restructure the fiscal allocation of our national resources in favour of the states to guarantee uninterrupted and unfettered primary education in Nigeria.”

    The union also requested that teachers’ salaries be paid from first-line charge from the federation account through the Universal Basic Education Commission.

    “We teachers of Nigeria in primary and secondary schools do seek and demand that our retirement age be raised to 65 years to increase the teacher retention rate in our schools. This will help to check the rate at which experienced teachers are being lost in the school system whereas younger and prospective teachers are not recruited to take their place,” Olukoya said.

  • Benue begins translation of science textbooks into indigenous language

    Benue begins translation of science textbooks into indigenous language

    The Benue State Universal Basic Education Board has started translating science textbooks into Tiv dialect for easy learning and sustenance of indigenous languages.

    The Executive Chairman of the board, Mr Philip Tachin, made this known on Wednesday while declaring open, a two-week teacher professional development workshop.

    The workshop had the theme: “Strengthening Mathematics and Science Education (SMASE)’’.

    Tachin said that the board was also exploring ways to translate the textbooks into Idoma and Igede dialects.

    He said that the aim was also to encourage more students in the state to read science courses.

    Tachin said that the workshop was in line with the state government’s education programmes.

    The executive chairman urged the participants to take advantage of the workshop to develop themselves.

    He expressed gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Education, National Teachers Institute and the Universal Basic Education Commission for making the workshop possible.

    The representative of the ministry, Mr Salisu Muhammad, said that 200 teachers would participate in the workshop while 1,000 others would take part at the zonal level.

    He commended Tachin for the translation initiative.

    The representative of National Teachers Institute, Mr Abubakar Ibrahim, also hailed the translation initiative.

    He called on teachers to place premium on the knowledge impartation.

    A mathematics teacher, Mr Bartholomew Atsar, and a elementary science teacher, Mrs Victoria Agbatse, promised to apply the knowledge they would acquire.

    They expressed gratitude to the relevant authorities for the training.

  • 40 schools to participate in 2017 Schools Debate League

    No fewer than 40 primary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will be participating in the 2017 School Debate League, says Mr. Barrow Omagbitse, Founder, Life Skill Experts.

    Omagbitse, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja, said that the debate would involve both primary and secondary schools within the territory.

    He said that the group had earlier approached the authorities of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for approval of the schools in the competition and support had been granted accordingly.

    Omagbitse said that the debate would create consciousness in the heart of pupils on the happenings in their communities.

    He noted that the debate would help introduce to the pupils and schools administration some basic learning resources as well as share in the philosophy of a life skill education.

    According to him, the success of a child is depended on the ability to combine both the emotional intelligence or life skills and intelligence quotient.

    “For individuals to achieve sustainable success, they need a combination of academic skills and life skills that is the combination of intelligence quotient and emotional intelligence.

    “Social scientists have argued that as a component of success, emotional intelligence accounts for 85 per cent while intelligence quotient accounts for 15 per cent.

    “This means that the major thrust of our efforts to educate our children should be focused on emotional and life skills that create this form of intelligence.

    “Unfortunately, our school programmes in this part of the world focus almost exclusively on the 15 per cent intelligence quotient.

    “And it is therefore no surprise that we create graduates and school leavers who do not possess the basic skills for value-based leadership, personal effectiveness, creativity and innovation,’’ he said.

    Omagbitse, however, called on school administrations to pay more attention to this so that the children would not grow up with the significant deficit in the particular areas that actually mattered to their success.

    He said that efforts had also been made to develop books and resources in life skill areas.

    “We have also intervened in the academic arena to fill the 15 per cent space by developing an eight-hour long video in mathematics for upper primary school.

    “We also developed a quick reference guild on Nigerian history, civic and current affairs for upper primary schools too,’’ he added.

    Omagbitse said that this would greatly benefit the children in learning experiences that task them to think about real life issues and challenges.

    The schools slate for the debate include LEA Primary School, Galadimawa, Gwarinpa 1 and 2, Area 1, Jabi, Aleyita, Jikwoyi 1and 2, Jahi and Titsal Global School.

    Others include Lead British International School, Model Science Primary School, Garki, Raberto Nursery and Primary School Wuse, Ladela Nursery and Primary School, Creative Learning International School and Greenice International School.

     

  • Abia bans touting, embarks on grassroots sports

    Abia bans touting, embarks on grassroots sports

    The Abia government has banned all forms of touting in all parts of the state as it has been projecting the state in a very bad light and will do all within its power to ensure that the ban stands.

    Speaking with newsmen in Umuahia on the outcome of the state Executive Council (EXCO) meeting, the commissioner for information, Bonnie Iwuoha said that security agencies have been directed to arrest anyone found touting in the state.

    Iwuoha said that the state government frowns at the high level of touting in all parts of the state and since the present administration has zero tolerance to such illegality, that it has no other choice than to ban it in all forms.

    He said that in the alternative that the EXCO has directed the state commissioner for sports to bring out a master plan that would enable them embark on massive sports development that will keep the youths busy.

    The information commissioner said that his counterpart in the sports ministry is expected to go to the grassroots and fish out the talented youths whose energy could be harnessed for their benefit and that of the state.

    Iwuoha said that it is expected that when the grassroots sports program commences, “It will make it possible for our youths to channel their enormous energy towards something more meaningful for both themselves and the state”.

    He said that the state government is to embark on massive agricultural produce and has directed the state commissioner for agriculture to produce a program that will bring out a revolution in that sector.

    The commissioner for information said that the program in agriculture will ensure food security, empowerment for both the youths and old, stressing that it will help to reduce crime rates in the state.

    Iwuoha said that the state government is sourcing for the sum of N1 billion agricultural loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), “When this loan comes it will be given to only genuine farmers and will not be used to settle political jobbers”.

    On education the information commissioner said that government is to renovate all the schools across the state and that the funds for the project will come from Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

    He said that the funds when it comes will be channeled towards the project, “The era when funds accessed for projects in the state are diverted is over and the UBEC funds will be used to give the schools a facelift.”