Nigerian public primary schools in ruins despite N54.9bn in UBEC

…Frustrated parents embrace private schools

…State govts: ‘We are trying to turn the tide’

… People must pay for quality education – Director

Public primary schools in many states of the federation are in ruins despite N54.9billion said to be in the custody of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and have not been accessed by state governments.

Parents in many Nigerian cities are increasingly withdrawing their children from public schools to private ones as a result of dilapidated structures, low quality teaching and neglect by various levels of government in the country.

Some state governments however, said that they were giving priority attention to public schools.

Reports had it that as of March this year, about 26 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have failed to access the sum of N54.9billion basic education fund provided by the UBEC.

The funds are lying fallow, despite the growing number of out-of-school children in the country.

The N54.9bn figure is obtained from a document prepared by UBEC in March 2024, showing state-by-state matching grants not accessed.

The document, signed by UBEC’s Director of Finance and Account, Adamu Misau, said the sum of N54.9bn was not accessed by states as of March.

BusinessDaySunday gathered that part of the reasons the public schools are not living up to expectation is the failure of state governments to contribute their part of counterpart/matching fund to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

Out of 36 states, it was gathered that by March 2024, 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have lodged the sum of N32.5billion with UBEC.

The lodgment is expected to enable the states access the yearly disbursement made available by the Federal Government through the UBEC for states for the development of Basic education.

The funds are to improve the quality of basic education in all 36 states. Each state government is responsible for providing 50 percent to match the annual disbursement provided by UBEC.

Oluwadare Kolawole, deputy director, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), speaking on the Channels Television programme Thursday, expressed concern that the failure of states to contribute their matching funds to UBEC has continued to retard development public schools across the country.

Kolawole, who also is Good Governance advocate and Human Rights lawyer, noted that a pull of funds with UBEC was meant to provide necessary infrastructure in schools and pay teachers’ salaries.

Primary education is foundational to every formal education system. At this level, every child within age six should be admitted to primary school which has six years duration.

Primary education does not only lay the foundation for other levels of education but also the fulcrum of the socio-political and economic advancement of a nation.

It is meant to provide the learner with opportunities to: acquire literacy, numeracy, creativity, and communication skills. Besides, children are to enjoy learning and develop a desire to continue learning and harness the ability for critical thinking and logical judgment.

Although primary education administration is being controlled by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) of the various states, the funding is the responsibility of the federal, state, and local governments.

Taking a look back when primary education was effectively managed by the missionaries and voluntary agencies with grant-in-aid from the colonial government compared to what is obtainable now, the Nigerian primary education system could be said to not be fulfilling the central purpose in terms of management and funding.

Wahab Alayiwe-King, former executive chairman of Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB), had attested to the fact that finance was a major factor in running a successful education system at any level, starting from primary education.

“Funding, without any doubt is very essential to education. However, the issue of funding of education to me is subjective, in the sense that there is little correlation between funding and management of the funds.

“There are actually some competing issues between provision and management of the funds provided. There has never been any time funds provided are said to be enough; hence, it is more about the usage of what is provided. The management aspect is more important,” he said.

It is expected that the recent judgement by the Supreme Court on the fiscal autonomy of the local governments will enable the council governments to revamp healthcare and public primary education in their domain.

Plateau

In Plateau State, public school system is said to have witnessed a significant boost since the inception of the Caleb Mutfwang-led administration. The government’s commitment to education has led to a marked improvement in the quality of learning and infrastructure in public schools across the state.

It is one of the states that have lodged their counterpart fund with UBEC.

Mohammed Nyalun, commissioner for Secondary Education, told BusinessDay that the administration has invested heavily in the renovation and construction of new classrooms, provision of learning materials, and recruitment of qualified teachers.

“This has resulted in an increase in student enrollment and improved academic performance. The government’s efforts have also led to a reduction in the number of out-of-school children in the state,” he said.

Nyalun added that the Plateau State Government has also introduced innovative programmes aimed at improving the quality of education in public schools. These programmes, according to him, include teacher training and development, student mentorship, and the introduction of digital learning tools.

“The government’s efforts have been commended by stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and students,” he added.

Read also: Lagos to undertake rehabilitation of public primary schools

Delta

Delta State as an oil-rich state is least expected to be among states with poor primary schools.

Investigations have however, revealed that the schools are bedevilled with so many challenges that have brought the sector to a very low standard that even the poor nowadays prefer private primary schools for their children and wards.

It was still the same primary schools attended by today’s leaders but the difference is the quality and standard of education obtainable today.

An indigene of Delta, citing example with his community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state, said: “Generally, primary schools are almost gone in this state. They are dilapidated infrastructure-wise, very terrible buildings; lack of quality teachers, and generally the learning environment is not conducive. Many of them do not even have functional library.

“In those days, we had libraries in our primary schools but now, they don’t have at all. No quality teachers. Both the schools in urban and rural areas don’t have good number of teachers.”

He also added that the poor state of the public schools nowadays may have forced parents and guardians to now prefer sending their children and wards to private schools.

He called on the state government to make public primary schools to function optimally like in days of old.

He recalled how he contributed to a positive change in the community primary school in his area months ago.

“The school was faced with lack of seats but when I wrote about it, the community found a way to sort it out and now, the pupils in the affected classes have seats.

Asamana Primary School – No chairs, no writing desk then. Today, they have roof over their head but no adequate teaching materials,” he said.

He called on the state government to pay attention to the primary schools by equipping them with adequate teaching materials and libraries.

“They do not have teachers; they should have libraries. What they have today is latrines rather than modern toilet facilities. Government should give attention to the schools and ensure they are given subventions and other forms of support,” he advised.

Chichi Ozoemena, a former teacher, said when it comes to caring for a child, the private schools are better.

“That was why we sent our son to private school. They teach better than the public primary school and they care more. There is this ‘I don’t care’ attitude among teachers in public schools. Even those in government hardly send their wards to public schools because they know that little learning takes place there these days. But this was not so in the past when schools were totally under the control of the missions,” she said.

Serah Ogabi, a civil servant with two children in private primary school, told BusinessDay Sunday, that the public primary schools are nothing to write home about.

“That’s why I send my children to private school where there are more dedicated, committed and caring teachers. In the public primary school, you see a teacher coming to school as late as 9.am, even sluggishly. Then, when she arrives, she and her colleagues would spend most of the school time in gossiping and trading. There’s little learning in the public schools as the teachers are not supervised.

“I advise that state government ensures that teachers are paid their salaries and supervised to enable them be committed to their duties. Above all, the development of infrastructure is very important because good learning environment has a way of encouraging the child to learn,” she said

The Chairman of State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Samuel Mariere at a workshop held recently in Ndokwa East and West LGAs of the state, called for collaborative efforts towards achieving functional primary school education in the state.

At the strategic meeting with the stakeholders, he said that both the state and Federal Government were committed to building solid education at primary level.

He asked the local governments to key into the renewed approach geared towards restoring the lost glories in the public primary schools.

Read also: The dying public school

Abia

In Abia State, public schools, which used to be good citadels of learning are in dire straits.

Structures of many of the schools are in a sorry state with leaking roofs, while children sit on bare floors to learn.

Few children, mostly indigent, whose parents cannot afford high private school fees are the only ones left in public schools, while their teachers teach in fear, as they are often harassed, by criminal elements that inhabit the facilities.

To buttress this, the management of the Special Education Centre for the Deaf and Mentally Retarded, Aba, recently raised the alarm over the takeover of part of the school premises by hoodlums.

Ijeoma Madubuko, principal of the school, who raised the alarm, said that the hoodlums have turned the school into a smoking joint and appealed to Governor Alex Otti to come to their rescue.

Madubuko said that the hoodlums have taken over part of the centre, destroyed their offices, carted away their equipment, as well as sexually harass their pupils.

This is the same scenario in many public schools in the state, especially Aba, the state’s commercial hub.

However, the current administration led by Governor Alex has solicited the cooperation of all stakeholders to join hands with the government to restore education to its former glory.

He said that the task of restoring the glory of education in the state is quite demanding and that the state does not have sufficient resources to accomplish all that it had set out to achieve.

“This is where everyone of us including captains of industry, and philanthropists must all step in to assist in the comprehensive resuscitation project in the educational sector, Otti said.

He also said that education was not only critical but central to development, adding that it was for that reason that his government committed itself to returning education to the front burner.

The governor disclosed that his administration had already sunk billions of naira into the rehabilitation of public schools in the state, disclosing that about 17 primary schools and 17 secondary schools in the state were currently undergoing rehabilitation under the first phase of the programme.

Kogi

Public schools in Lokoja received face lift in the last lap of Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration, where he charged principals and headmasters not collect school fees from pupils and students.

Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has maintained the tempo since took over the mantle of leadership on the 27th January 2024.

At the Army Day Secondary School Lokoja, Salami Moses, principal of the school, disclosed that the school was gazetted by the government in 1990 by the then Kwara State and when Kogi was created on August 27, 1991, 83 Mechanised Battalion inherited the school.

Speaking on government impact on the school, Moses disclosed that the state government provides the school qualified teachers, pays the salary of both teaching and non-teaching staff, adding that the military provides accommodation, security around the school premises and maintained discipline.

He said: “Towards the end of Yahaya Bello’s administration, he announced that henceforth, there would be free education on Kogi State. School Management and parents then come up with the idea of sustaining the school with PTA levy N4,000 per term. The school has qualified teachers who are seasoned WAEC examiners.”

At the Army Day Secondary School Lokoja, Ozigi Helen, a civil servant disclosed she got admission in1991 and finished in 1997.

She equally disclosed that the school was established in 1990, adding that it was purely for the Command before they handed it over to state government, and that the school has been the best when it comes to public schools in Kogi State.

Ozigi equally said that her two children are in Army Day Secondary School, adding that the schools in Lokoja have up-to-date teachers.

Wemi Jones, commissioner for Education, told BusinessDay that education was on the government’s priority list.

“We have realised that education is the most sustainable tool with which we can empower our people and also drive away poverty from our land therefore, we set out to identify what the issues are, how much we need to spend to take care of this issue so we did a proper plan and our plan reveal that we need to adequately fund our education.

“Consequently, even during their leadership and administration of Yahaya Bello the immediate past Governor of Kogi State devoted 30percent annual budget to the funding of education in Kogi State, 30percent allocation is higher than the 26percent which UNESCO recommended as the benchmark allocation for the funding of education, so because we did that it gave us the leverage to spend huge money in the funding of our state education,” he said.

He said: “I refer you to GYB Model Science School in Adankolo and the same thing is happening in other Senatorial Districts in the state. So, it is a gradual process we have master plan to renovate at least, two schools in each local government area.”

Oyo

Before the advent of present administration, there were myriads of challenges that beseted public schools in Oyo State.

The state of educational sector was near comatose with infrastructural decay and shortage of teachers and lack of funding.

But the past five years of the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde has taken it upon himself to put the education sector on the right course.

While giving priority to education, the current administration has allocated about 21 percent of its budget to the sector.

The government has continued to sustain free education in public primary and secondary schools across the State to ensure that access to education is not hindered by the payment of fees.

Although much is needed to be done as a result of long years of neglect, the government of Makinde has been able to complete several projects in the basic education sector through Oyo SUBEB.

This was made possible by the continuous payment of the UBEC counterpart funding so as to access matching grants to carry out infrastructural projects in the basic education sector.

To this end, the state has plan to build an additional 30 model schools and construct/renovate 1,000 classrooms and paying particular attention to the siting of these schools to reach more underserved areas in the next four years.

Apart from this, the state government has earmarked the sum of fifteen billion naira annually, starting with the 2024 Budget, for infrastructural renewal (classrooms and basic infrastructure) in public primary and secondary Schools in Oyo State.

To address the infrastructural decay, the state recently in collaboration with the Global Partnership for Education, a World Bank-assisted programme, disbursed grants for the renovation of 58 public schools in the state.

Salihu Adelabu, commissioner for education said the selected public schools would receive a facelift through rehabilitation efforts.

The government is likewise carrying out needs assessments in public primary and secondary schools in the state to identify schools which need infrastructural interventions within the State.

Efforts were also on to reduce the number of out-of-school children by a further 20 percent through targeted interventions in the next four years.

The on-going Better Education Service Delivery for All Additional Financing-Transforming Education System at State Level (BESDA AF- TESS) project in the State is targeted at reducing the number of out-of-school children. The Executive Council had to approve N934,785,182.60 as counterpart funding for BESDA AF-TESS early this year.

The state also has in the pipeline distribution of brailed textbooks and equipment to the special schools with presence of a sign language expert in the department and procurement of modern teaching equipment for special schools.

To address the shortage of teachers, the State Government approved the recruitment of 7,500 teachers, and 3,000 non-teaching staff into the state teaching service, as part of efforts to improve the post-Primary education sector.

Recently, the government ordered the reopening of 23 schools in the Atiba, Afijio, Oyo East and Oyo West Local Government Areas of the state, 10 years after they were shut down over land disputes.

The state Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal, who waded into the boundary crisis that culminated into the 10-year closure of the schools, said council chairmen would be held responsible should there be a breach of security.

Following reports of insecurity, across the country, the state government took a drastic decision by providing security in public schools for safety of the pupils

Public schools in the state had for past years operated without adequate security, leading to reports of kidnapping, rape, vandalism, and theft of government property.

‘People must pay for quality education’

A director of Education in Lagos who spoke with BusinessDay Sunday on condition of anonymity said that the increasing population of children in the country has put serious pressure on the infrastructure in public schools making it difficult for the expected outcome to be realised.

“I have always argued that the times we are in are not the same with where we are coming from. While not making an excuse for the government, I want to say that the population we have today of children in school is not what was obtainable when some of us enjoyed public school education. It is difficult for government to fund public education the way it was funded in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Many parents these days prefer private schools to public institutions for obvious reasons. The truth is that if we desire quality education, we must be ready to pay for it. Making education free cannot guarantee the quality that people want. If government must provide conducive learning environment- good classrooms, desks, buildings, and attract quality teachers, there must be money to do all that. Parents cannot be calling for total free education in Nigeria of today; no, the economy does not support that,” the director said.