By ABUBAKAR YUSUF.
The primacy of convening the Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC was to reposition and rejig the impact and impartation of basic Education in the public schools and by extension regulate it’s activities in the private schools across the country.
This had enabled the commission developed both the long term, medium and short term measures to address the dearth of training and development of teachers in basic institutions with a view to deliver on the mandate of the agency.
Not minding the environmental and human interferences, the commission over the years spanned over a decade invested hugely directly or indirectly in the continuous training and retraining of teachers and personnel, charged with teaching basic education across the country a whopping amount of 57B.
The moves over the years was not only to enhance teaching in basic education, but professional disposition, provision of instructional materials and enabling environment that will promote both teachers and learner’s instincts.
Since professional development of teachers at both private and public schools cannot be overemphasized , the need to continue the positive trend will not be overlooked.
The trend, though enmeshed in some teething problems at the subnational level, UBEC under the leadership of Dr Hamid Bobboyi had enrolled 47M pupils in public schools inspite of the debilitating effects of COVID and it’s attendant lockdown globally.
With improved training in the numbers of teachers six years down the line of the present management and thirteen years cumulatively, the quantum amount spent if sustained, will not only improved basic education, but redoubled learners and teachers ratio in public schools.
The room for improvement and approaches of the current management will turn the negative trend witnessed over the years to a desirable and stable trend from the current ratio of 67.5% in public schools and 85.3% in private schools across the country in line with the statistic derived from the recent National Personal Audit.
With the current ratio, the quality of basic Education and state apathy and dependent on the national intervention, if not checked , will not only affect learning outcomes, but quality of delivery of Education to learners in Nigeria.
The commission was already determined to turn the table of poor learner/pupil ratio with concerted efforts through awareness, seminars, talkshops, symposium as well as constant reorientation of major stakeholders of basic Education.
The trend will not only improved the expected learning outcomes, but in accordance with the basic requirements, the global trend, government resolve and justification of it’s huge investment and the need to sustain the tempo.
With all variables and administrative wizardry been deployed by the current management, it will boost learning outcomes with adequate training of teachers and required inculcation of basic knowledge and Education on the learners.
However, it behoves on the critical stakeholders particularly at the subnational level, the private sector to synergise with the commission with a view to delivering on its mandate and improved on more dynamics of Basic Education in the country.
Yusuf Writes from Abuja and can be reached on yus.abubakar3@gmail.com.