Abuja(SundiataPost) –Stakeholders in the education sector have identified lack of accountability, transparency and inadequate funding as the major challenges facing Nigeria’s education system.
The stakeholders also noted that the sector was afflicted with flawed administrative procedures, lack of accountability in the school system, politicized employment of school heads and improper supervision, as well as a defective quality assurance and control mechanism.
They made this known in a communique issued after the 2018 Nigeria Education Innovation Summit recently organised by The Education Partnership Centre in Gbagada, Lagos.
While blaming the decadence in the sector on decades of poor governance and entrenched dysfunction, with no mechanism of accountability and performance, the stakeholders were unanimous about the importance of punitive measures for leaders and policymakers, especially at the state level, for non- transparent and non-accountable practices.
Stating that information about transparency in education should be in the public domain, the communique reads in part, “Over the years, calls for accountability have become imperative because of the demand for constructive changes in our education system. In the schools, administrators and their subordinates have been said to neglect these essential ingredients in the performance of their administrative functions.
“The effect is that there is neglect and wastage in the system. Wastage of human, fiscal and material resources are now rampant, some others are misallocated and misused. The huge direct and indirect loss involved is of great concern to investors. Obviously, administrators are confronted with enormous challenges as regards accountability during their managerial function.”
Recommending long-term planning and investment for sustainable development, the stakeholders also suggested, “Education funding and development can only be sustained by establishing evidence-based accountability measures. Relevant data must be collected at all stages of the education life-cycle in order to make informed, far-reaching decisions. In addition, to properly evaluate the outcome of investments, the sector should be assessed through rigorous and exhaustive data collection and analysis at all levels.
“The quest for quality education in Nigeria can become a reality only if the government provides an enabling environment for the development and implementation of sound policies and structures related to accountability and transparency.”
At the summit, the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture called for collaboration amongst the stakeholders in the education sector, stressing that it was the only sustainable means of attaining the much-needed reforms.