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Edo to host UBEC meeting, showcase EdoBEST

Ozavize E. Salami

Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (Edo SUBEB), under the leadership of Ozavize E. Salami, is set to host the 23rd Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) quarterly meeting between 15-18, November 2021 in Benin City.

The event which will be attended by the minister of education, UBEC executives and chairmen from 36 state SUBEB chapters will see stakeholders and delegates understudy the EdoBEST transformation programme and its gains.

EdoBEST has been identified as a game-changer in basic education reform by Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, World Bank Head of Education and other key local and international education sector experts.

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EdoBEST has accelerated student fluency to near-global standards in less than 3 years, a feat that took countries recognised for global excellence in learning – South Korea and Singapore – decades to achieve. Learning data from EdoBEST shows that Edo state has accelerated reading fluency to 70 percent of that of High-Income Countries, compared to less than 30% for Nigeria nationally and other low-income countries globally.

The theme of the UBEC meeting, “Enhancing Access, Equity and Standards in Basic Education through Technology-driven Initiatives,” draws attention to the growing importance of an integrated system-wide approach using teacher coaching and technology to improve pupils’ learning outcomes at scale. It places emphasis on the importance of teacher support, tracking of performance and attendance and the use of data for continual programme assessment through the growing adoption of technology in learning globally.

EdoBEST is recognised as the premier government education transformation programme in Nigeria – replicated by Lagos State (EKOEXCEL) and more recently, Kwara (KwaraLEARN) – to improve learning outcomes is supported by technical partner NewGlobe, an education expert and leader in learning.

EdoBEST is the only subnational programme that has become part of the World Bank accelerator programme due to its widely acknowledged success. Under the new Chair, EdoBEST is expanding into Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) to further increase its reach.

The UBEC quarterly meeting will feature technical sessions, presentations from UNICEF and NewGlobe peer review sessions and presentations from EdoBEST pupils.

The UBEC will visit an EdoBEST school to inspect UBEC funded projects and observe first-hand how the EdoBEST programme operates and uses technology to drive learning.