Abuja – The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, on Tuesday in Abuja underscored the need to strengthen basic education.
Adamu, made the call at the 14th quarterly meeting of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) with chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting with the theme “Consolidating Basic Education in Nigeria: Challenges and the Way Forward’’ brought together SUBEB chairmen from the 36 states of the federation.
The minister, who was represented by Mrs Anne Okonkwo, Director Basic and Secondary Studies, Federal Ministry of Education, said the themewas apt in the change era.
According to him, providers of basic education are making efforts at ensuring quality education delivery through various infrastructure and teachers development programmes.
He added that these programmes, however, faced with unprecedented challenges such as terrorism, kidnapping, poor funding and the out-of-school children syndrome.
Adamu urged UBE providers to device tools and strategies that would promote quality basic education delivery in the country.
“Consolidating basic education in the face of these challenges would require managers of universal basic education to device tools that will promote quality basic education delivery.
“To confront these challenges, all hands must be on deck, a synergy from all will go a long way in ameliorating the challenges of basic education in the country.
“I want you to realise that the delivery of qualitative basic education to the Nigerian children lies with you; I therefore charge you to be steadfast in the discharge of your duties.’’
He also urged the participants to properly plan and efficiently utilise the resources available to them to achieve the set goal of “Education for All”.
In his address, Dr Sulaiman Dikko, the Executive Secretary, UBEC, said that the quarterly meeting was a forum to discuss progress, achievements and challenges in the implementation of UBE programmes in the country.
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Dikko noted that quality education was the most effective weapon for eliminating forces such as illiteracy, ignorance, poverty and insurgency in the country.
He added that these forces constituted impediments to the rapid socio-economic development and political stability in a developing country like Nigeria.
He said that the commission had recorded various achievements since its inception, including building and upgrading of new schools and adequate supply of basic text books in core subjects.
Others are recruitment of more qualified teachers and managers, provision of Almajiri Education Programme, All Girls School projects, among others.
“These efforts have yielded positive results in terms of efficient management of schools, increased enrolment and improved pupil learning achievement.
“Even with this encouraging report card on basic education, we are not under any illusion that we have arrived at our destination.
“We still need to address the issue of unqualified teachers in our school system, enhance capacity of our quality assurance and ensure higher data integrity in basic education for effective planning,’’ Dikko said. (NAN)