Kaduna SUBEB partners 12 NGOs to enhance primary education – Director

Kaduna SUBEB partners 12 NGOs to transform primary education – Director
Education
By Mohammed Lawal
Zaria (Kaduna State), Aug. 15, 2018 (NAN) The Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) on Wednesday, said the it had entered into partnership with 12 NGOs to enhance basic education in the state.
Alhaji Aminu Ibrahim, Director, Social Mobilisation, SUBEB, stated this at a news conference organised by an NGO, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), held in Zaria, Kaduna State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the news conference was orgnised to outline the successes or otherwise of a project: “Social Mobilisation for Accountability in the Implementation of UBE fund in Kaduna State” initiated by CHRICED.
The director said the board was working with wide range of stakeholders with a view to promoting universal basic education through gathering and dissemination of relevant information and showcasing best practices.
“The business of SUBEB is no longer a one man show, it is often said that, ‘education for all is a responsibility of all’.
“Therefore, we are partnering with about 12 NGOs; however, that of CHRICED is quite unique, community driven and equally very important.
“CHRICED had succeeded in doing what is part of our schedule, because ours at UBEC is to work with wide range of stakeholders with a view to promoting universal basic education,b
NAN reports that the NGO had conducted a UBE projects survey in Zaria, Kubau and Kauru Local Governments Areas and subsequently organised a workshop for School Board Management Committee (SBMC) members from those areas, funded by MacArthur Foundation.
Earlier, the CHRICED Director, Dr Ibrahim Zikirullahi had said that the NGO had launched its project of “Social Mobilisation for Transparency and Accountability in the Implementation of UBE” in Zaria, Kubau and Kauru since 2017.
The director said that the project was possible and successful with support of the John D. and T. MacArthur Foundation.
“The focus has been to galvanise citizens in various communities around issues of UBE service delivery,” adding that CHRICED had taken steps to inspire conversations at the community level.
“This is with the aim of ensuring that the very people at the grassroots, who bear the brunt of all dimensions of poor UBE service delivery would be the vanguard of pressuring the governance system to ensure accountability at this critical level of foundational education.
“Basic education is a right of every Nigerian child, and this right is guaranteed by the extant constitution of our country.
“Specifically, section 18(3a) make it clear that government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy, and to this end, government shall as when and practicable provide free, compulsory and universal primary education.”
He said CHRICED always insisted that communities must not allow the important right to basic education for their children to be dormant and redundant.
Zikirullahi advised citizens to take civic action to ensure that institutions of government charged with promoting and protecting such important right of a child did not fail in their responsibilities.
“As a civic society organisation, our role has been to create the platform and put in place approaches, which would streamline the core issues of UBE delivery.
“This is why we conducted a research study to get the views and perceptions of communities and professionals responsible for UBE delivery on what the most pressing challenges are.
“The research and several consultative meetings held showed a very bleak picture of the UBE system in the targeted LGAs.
“In areas like infrastructure, benchmark teacher to student ration and availability of human and material resources to make learning meaningful and impactful, there have been serious gaps.”
He added that quantitative date from the research indicated widespread disparities between the state schools in the urban centres and those in the rural areas.
Zikirullahi stressed the need for efforts to galvanise communities to monitor projects in their domain through monitoring and date collection to strengthen accountability. (NAN)
KLM/AOS/MZA
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Edited by Bayo Sekoni/Maharazu Ahmed