• Stakeholders decry low attention to sector in RiversThe sector has continued to deteriorate over the years due largely to inadequate funding. This in fact, has resulted in poor infrastructure, lack of teaching and learning tools, increase in number of out-of-school children and producing less competitive graduates.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic pushed 2020 budgetary allocation to the sector downwards, these estimates hardly address the plethora of challenges confronting the system due to non-release of approved funds and inability to faithfully execute projects whose funds were released. Only few months ago, reports trended about the scale of dilapidation in some schools across the state, where students either study under leaking roof or with inadequate furniture materials.
“There are roles that female and male teachers will play in schools. We are not discriminating against male teachers, we are even begging them, but they have refused to show any interest. We need them in our classes to complement female teachers. I went to a school where a female teacher was practically begging me to bring even if it is one male teacher.”He, however, noted that the state government had made significant improvement in the sector when compared with what it met on ground in 2015.
“There is what we call School Based Management Board , where communities are now allowed to provide teachers to augment the ones provided by the state government. Has that ever been the case? I am aware that in Enugu State, it is now difficult to get a male teacher in primary schools, even if the person is a young graduate. That is because; they cannot be part of a system that cares less about their welfare.
“Could you believe that there are many schools where students don’t have toilet facilities? There are several schools where you don’t talk about water. So, as much as these things are not available, the sector cannot function.”In Kano, emphasis is on provision of new classroom blocks to accommodate pupils and make learning more conducive; free meals for primary school pupils to boost enrollment and the recent policy on free and compulsory education to reduce the number of out-of-school children.
According to him, apart from poor allocation to the sector, releasing funds is a major challenge. For instance, in 2019, allocation stood at 11 per cent, which is far below the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s recommendation of 26 per cent, while funds eventually released was not more than five per cent.
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