There is some interesting relationship between what the South-South state governments are budgeting on education and literacy rate in the region. The six states in that region of Nigeria plan to spend N157.98 billion on the education sector in 2013. The South-South has the second highest average literacy rate in the country, only lower than that of the South-East. The region’s expenditure represents an average of 37 per cent of the Federal Government’s N428 billion education budget for 2013.
BusinessDay figures show that the South-South as a region has the highest proposed expenditure on education in 2013 compared to Nigeria’s other regions. The N158 billion proposed expenditure represents 7.82 per cent of the South-South’s 2013 cumulative budget. The South-South’s budget represents 2.65 per cent of the region’s estimated GDP. The region’s 2013 average education budget per head is N6,316 which is about thrice the average education budget per head at the national level.
On a state-by-state basis, Rivers State’s N47.81 billion education budget for 2013 is the highest in the region and represents 30.82 per cent of the education budget of the region. The education budget is 9.75 per cent of the state’s 2013 budget, higher than the 7.82 per cent average spend for the region. The Rivers State government has been pushing to rebuild all the state’s primary and secondary schools, replacing them with better designed model schools.
Bayelsa State has the second highest budget in the region with a N28.4 billion budget for the educational sector in 2013. The state’s education budget represents 9.93 per cent of its 2013 budget, higher than the region’s average and also 17.99 per cent of the region’s education budget.
Delta State’s education budget of N27.10 billion is the third highest in the South-South region and represents 5.74 per cent of the state’s budget, below the region’s average budget of 7.82 per cent. The state’s education budget is, however, 17.16 per cent of the region’s education budget.
Akwa-Ibom’s N19.80 billion education budget is the fourth highest in the region. However, the education budget is just 4.21 per cent of the state’s 2013 budget, well below the region’s average spend of 7.82 per cent. The state’s education budget also represents 12.54 per cent of the region’s education budget.
The fifth highest education budget in the region is Cross River’s, at N19.62 billion, representing 12.96 per cent of the state’s 2013 budget, well above the region’s average. The state’s education budget is also 12.43 per cent of the region’s 2013 education budget.
Edo State’s N15.61 billion education budget is the lowest in the region and represents 10.31 per cent of the state’s 2013 budget, which is also higher than the average education budget in the region. The state’s education budget represents 9.60 per cent of the region’s budget.
What is interesting about the education spend in the South-South is the seeming correlation between each state’s education budget per head and the level of literacy in the state. As can be seen from the chart below, states with lower literacy rate have a higher budget per head than those with a lower literacy rate. Bayelsa State has the highest budget spend per head and the third highest literacy rate in the South-South region. Rivers State, which has the highest literacy rate in the region, has the second highest education budget per head.
Edo State has the lowest education budget per head and the second lowest literacy rate in the region. Only Bayelsa and Rivers States have a budget per head higher than the regional average. All the states in the region, however, have a higher budget per head than the national average.
This chart does not necessarily mean the states with the lower budget per head should spend more. It is the quality of expenditure that will make the difference in spending in the long run.
However, a higher budget, if efficiently deployed on a consistent basis over a period, will definitely have a higher impact on the quality of manpower in each of the states.
Note: This analysis is taken out of BusinessDay Research’s forthcoming report on Nigerian states. The report is a detailed analysis of the spending patterns of Nigeria’s 36 states and Abuja as well as key economic and financial indicators across the states. The report is due for publication at the end of the month.
BusinessDay Research Unit does comprehensive financial and economic analysis. If you want analysis or data on any company or any particular sector of the Nigerian economy or industry or have any other queries that BusinessDay Research Unit can help you with, kindly send a mail to [email protected]/en or call 08185193932. We can also help you with your confidential market surveys and competition analysis at a cost.
ANTHONY OSAE-BROWN
Editor, BusinessDay Research Unit
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