The Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, said Nigeria needs an additional 20,000 schools and 907,769 classrooms to accommodate the nation’s rising out-of-school population.
Ben Goong, the Federal Ministry of Education’s Director of Press, revealed this in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the statement, Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education, was briefed on the activities of UBEC by Hammed Boboyi, its Executive Secretary, who also provided the data.
The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, however, “strongly indicated that his administration will prioritise basic education in the Country, emphasising that the foundation level is the most critical segment in the sector and must be properly developed to impact favourably on other tiers of the sector and overall National Development,” according to the statement by the FME.
Read also: Oyo to mop up 1.5m out-of-school students
In continuing his briefing sessions with parastatals and organisations under the direction of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Minister made this statement today (Tuesday) in his office in Abuja.
The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration will stop at nothing to ensure that every Nigerian child is brought aboard the ship of education, Prof. Tahir said, calling on all the States of the Federation to demonstrate greater commitment to providing counterpart funding to speed up the development of primary education in the nation. The Minister stated that the upcoming National Census will resolve the disputes surrounding the number of out-of-school children.
Read also: Nigeria accounts for 12.4% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s out-of-school children
Earlier in his briefing, UBEC Executive Secretary Dr Hamid Bobo informed the Ministers that an extra 20,000 schools and 907 769 classrooms are required to accommodate the nation’s expanding student population.
According to the Executive Secretary, the Commission’s efforts to ensure universal access to high-quality primary education are hampered by infrastructure deficiencies and a lack of workforce.
Read also: Fresh concerns over Nigeria’s rising number of out-of-school children
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