Nigeria’s Universal Basic Education Commission has revealed that the country has over 45 million children currently enrolled in its basic education system.
Despite allocating over N100 billion to education annually, UBEC Executive Secretary Dr. Hamid Boboyyi emphasized the need for private sector involvement to address the sector’s resource constraints and deliver quality education.
Boboyyi acknowledged that the federal government’s current funding is insufficient to meet the demands of the vast basic education system.
He called upon the private sector to recognize the importance of early childhood education and contribute to the country’s development by supporting education initiatives.
“Resources alone from the federal government cannot run the system. Nigeria has over 45 million children in basic education subsector and with this number, we require the necessary classrooms.
“A state may get a maximum of maybe N3 billion in the best times, but N3 billion cannot take care of these. It needs instructional materials, you need a lot of other things,” he said
The one-day meeting held in Abuja aimed to foster a functional partnership between UBEC and the private sector.
Boboyyi expressed concerns about the 29% decline in the number of teachers in the basic education system following the COVID-19 pandemic.
He stressed the need for adequate teacher compensation and motivation to ensure quality education delivery.
“Unless we can be able to pay our teachers and compensate them properly, motivate them it is very difficult to deliver the kind of education that we all dream of,” he noted
The commission also encourages investment in the smart school initiative to equip the young population with technological skills.
