As part of activities marking the launch of the 2022 Power Forward basketball season, the National Basketball Association (NBA Africa), ExxonMobil Foundation and PanAfricare, have commenced their touring of schools in the Federal Capital territory.

The outing, which began at the Government Secondary School, Kubwa, brought together students, particularly those involved in basketball, from schools within FCT, including Government Day Secondary School, Dutse, Total Child Model School, Dutse, as well as students from the host school.

 The students were taken through a life skills seminar handled by former NBA player, Olumide Oyedeji, after which they participated in a tree planting exercise.

The organisers said the Power Forward line of activities were aimed at building the capacity of the youth as part of their contributions towards sports development and a sustainable greener environment.

The Vice President, NBA Africa and Country Head, NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, explained that the yearly programme, which is in its ninth series, is tailored to enhance the capacity of students in basketball technicalities and the curriculum for the junior NBA programme relevant for a successful career in the sport.

The programme is also aimed at ensuring that basketball is widely accepted by children in the FCT so that they can benefit from all the skills embedded in the game.

The NBA boss added that the association is an environmentally conscious one that sees tree planting as very relevant to the overall development of humanity.

The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Professor Adenike Oladiji, has described students as the most relevant part of the university system and must be treated as unique individuals with respect to teaching, learning and research.

Oladiji, who stated this while receiving executives of the students union (FUTASU), who paid her a courtesy visit, said students give identity to universities and efforts must be made to give them a rich learning experience to encourage them to give back after graduation.

Oladiji said her administration is poised to enhance students’ learning, with a commitment to ensure that students have an excellent tertiary education experience.

The vice-chancellor said she has always known FUTA students to be peaceful, obedient and diligent, and implored them to join hands to maintain the institution’s global standing and visibility.

She noted that students, as a vital part of the university community, have a role to play in promoting peace and stability.

President of the students’ body, Ibiyemi Abiodun, assured the new vice-chancellor of their support, saying they would cooperate with her to achieve set objectives.

The Governor of Edo State Godwin Obaseki has assured of government’s readiness to sustain investment in technical and vocational education to drive the state’s industrial growth.

Obaseki who stated this while receiving members of Benin College Old Students’ Association Worldwide, led by the President, Friday Emuze, said his government would build about 20 technical colleges, with one in each council to drive Edo’s industrial growth and boost employment opportunities.

Heeding the group’s request for the Government Science and Technical College, Benin to revert to its original name, the Benin Technical College, he said he is convinced that the school should be restored to its original name.

Obaseki added that the state is working with the Federal Government to ensure that Federal College of Education, Technical in Ekiadolor takes off, so that a pool of teachers can be trained to help begin the process of revamping technical education in the state.

He revealed that the state would have more technical colleges in city centres.

Obaseki, who highlighted the importance of technical education in the socio-economic growth and development of any nation, said one of the major reasons for high unemployment rate in Nigeria, apart from poor government policies, was lack of skills.

He said people look down on vocational training; everybody just wants a degree and certificates, adding that government was very clear right from day one that the way to go was to rethink the educational system to produce self-reliant people.

Earlier, Emuze commended the governor for reviving technical education in the state and urged him to ensure the repositioning of Benin Technical College.

The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing has inaugurated the N182 million internal road network at Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.

The 1.8 kilometre road network, commissioned by the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, was part of the Federal Government’s intervention in the institution.

Speaking at the event, the minister said the project is part of proposed road networks by the Federal Government across federal tertiary institutions in the country.

According to him, 21 proposed roads were rehabilitated in 2021 and handed over to the various institutions concerned.

He said another 17 roads are also ready to be handed over, while 30 roads in similar institutions across the country are currently been attended to, making it a total of 76 roads.

The minister, who was represented by the Acting Federal Controller of Works, Kebbi State, Ahmed Abdulkadir Yabo, said students are expressing renewed enthusiasm with regard to attending classes because some defective roads have been restored to good condition.

In his remarks, Rector, Waziri Umar Federal Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi, Dr. Tunga, thanked the Federal Government for the intervention.

The inability of some state governors to access the Universal Basic Education Commission’s (UBEC) intervention fund is threatening the education of millions of Nigerian school children.

26 states and the Federal Capital Territory have failed to access the sum of N33.6bn earmarked for basic education by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) as at February 2022.

According to the Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, each state receives an average of N1.5 billion for funding of basic education from UBEC every year, which adds up to N3 billion with payment of matching grant, but the fund is lying fallow as states fail to access the funds.

Among states owing 2021 counterpart funds are Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Rivers, Yobe, Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Kaduna.

UBEC put the unaccessed funds at N18, 746,470,860.16. Between 2005 and 2021, a total of N528, 678,768,160.60 was paid as counterpart funds by the 36 states and FCT.

The commission noted that between 2005 and 2017, the 36 states and FCT paid all the counterpart funds.

It was, however, noted that in 2018, 35 states and FCT paid the counterpart funds up to the fourth quarter, amounting to N1, 473,832,845.20 each. Ogun State failed to lodge the sum of N491, 267,613.70 as its counterpart funds for the period.

In 2019, the commission noted that 31 states and the FCT lodged their counterpart funds up to the fourth quarter, amounting to N1, 519,884,078.86 each.

While Enugu and Niger lodged up to the second quarter, three states, Anambra, Ebonyi and Ogun, did not lodge their 2019 counterpart funds.

The addition of the 2019 figures revealed that the five states owed N6, 534,886,946.10.

For 2020, the commission noted that 25 states, namely Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and FCT lodged their counterpart funds up to the fourth quarter amounting to N715, 074,135.14 each.

Further analysis revealed that 11 states – Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kaduna, Kwara, Niger, Ogun and Osun, owed N715, 074,135.14 each, making the total owed by the states to be N17, 865,815,486.54 in 2020.

For 2021, UBEC noted that only eight states – Bauchi, Benue, Edo, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Nasarawa and Taraba, lodged their counterpart funds up to the fourth quarter by paying N946, 646,664.48 each.

It was also noted that eight states, namely; Bayelsa, Cross River, Ekiti, Kano, Kebbi, Oyo, Sokoto and Zamfara as well as FCT owed counterpart funds for the fourth quarter of 2021, which amounted to a total of N1, 359,505,128.24 at N151, 056,125.36 each.

Plateau State owed counterpart funds for the third and fourth quarters of 2021, which amounted to N348, 325,771.28.

The Chairman, Governing Board, UBEC, Prof Adamu Usman, had accused state governments of abdicating their responsibility of funding basic education.

Usman said states did not appear enthusiastic about funding basic education as they had failed to pay their matching grants.

Bobboyi decried the poor outcomes in basic education delivery at state levels, despite billions of naira given to them for intervention programmes on annual basis.

The UBEC chief said that about 50 per cent of schools lack basic furniture, forcing pupils to sit on the floor to take lessons.

A report by the commission showed that Nigeria currently has a deficit of about 43,456 classrooms, indicating a limited capacity for access across states.

Stakeholders have also observed that these limited classroom spaces have not only contributed to the high number of out-of-school children but accounted for why some still learn under trees and dilapidated buildings.

The report, which is the National Personnel Audit (NPA) conducted by UBEC, revealed that the total number of classrooms required for public schools is 195,484, but the number of available classrooms was 152,028.

The report further noted that the challenge of classroom deficits was exacerbated by the fact that only 75 per cent of available classrooms were in good condition with the Southeast having the least proportion of good classrooms with 68 per cent compared with the proportion of good classrooms in the other zones ranging between 70 and 80.

The report further indicated that matching the current enrolments with available classrooms showed a national learner-classroom ratio (LCR) of 45 learners to a classroom, indicating some form of overcrowding given the national minimum standard of 40 per cent to a junior secondary classroom.

According to the UBEC boss, out of 2,895 projects awarded in 2020, a total of 939 have been completed as of March 8, out of which 195 were classroom construction and renovation of 54 and 690 supplies.

He added that 1,956 projects involving the construction of 449 classrooms are ongoing, 125 are under renovation and 1,382 are supplies.

Bobboyi said that one of the daunting challenges was the insecurity in some states, which is slowing down school construction and sometimes results in the destruction of completed projects or abandonment of projects.

The commission has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), to ensure that infrastructure built in public schools across the country is of standard quality.

The Executive Secretary said 50 per cent of allocation to the commission from Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) by the Federal Government for basic education, is disbursed to states for infrastructural development.

He said it was therefore important for UBEC to monitor what is going on to ensure that there is value for money and infrastructure built is safe, could last for long and motivate pupils to learn better.

Reactions from states

In Anambra, UBEC funds were accessed last in 2018

Since the administration of former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, Anambra State had maintained its payment of 50 per cent counterpart funding.

The State Universal Basic Education Commission (ASUBEB) has collaborated with UBEC to ensure that new buildings are built and old ones reconstructed.

However, the last time UBEC counterpart funding was accessed by the state was in 2018.

1,000 projects inaugurated in Lagos in one year

Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB), Wahab Alawiye-King, said in the last year, over 1,000 school projects were inaugurated ranging from new construction to rehabilitation.

Ekiti pays N7.84 billion between 2015 and 2021

The present administration in Ekiti State has been involved in renovating classrooms, constructing new ones and equipping them with state-of-art facilities

Aside reconstruction of the schools, four models schools were built in four locations on the outskirts of Ado-Ekiti.

The state government said it has paid N7.8 billion to UBEC as a counterpart fund to enable the state to access N16 billion to develop basic education.

It said the huge investment in education in the last three years had increased enrolment in public primary schools.

Enrolment in public primary schools, which stood at 106,271 in October 2018, had increased to 241,982 in 2021, while public secondary schools jumped from 84,146 in 2018 to 109,140.

The state government clarified that it paid matching grants of over N7.84 billion to UBEC between 2015 and 2021.

However, findings showed that despite allocations to the sub-sector, some schools, especially in rural areas, are still battling derelict infrastructure, most especially those in rural areas.

Classrooms in urban areas were conducive for learning, except few schools that lacked necessary amenities such as a water system, sick bay and functional toilets.

Infrastructure still inadequate in Kaduna

In Kaduna State, schools still suffer inadequate infrastructure with 22,188 classrooms in primary and secondary schools without adequate furniture.

Although infrastructural facelift in the state in the last six years saw the building of classrooms in some highly-populated primary schools, there are still schools where pupils sit on the floor for lessons.

According to the annual school census report 2020, there are 4,489 public primary and pre-primary schools in Kaduna State, with both primary and secondary schools having an enrolment figure of 2,399,179 pupils.

The report said there were 20, 267 usable classrooms in primary schools, while 8,239 are in need of major repairs. It added that 17,056 primary school classrooms are with insufficient seating and 12,010 classrooms without good blackboards.

The national president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, says the warning strike embarked upon by the union on February 14, would soon be truncated.

The ASUU national president stated this while speaking on a radio interview.

He blamed the minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, for politicising the strike which has failed to yield positive results.

Osodeke pleaded with Nigerian students to continue to support the union in the struggle to improve the university system in the country.

He urged them to vote against politicians whose children are not in Nigerian universities and do not have their medical files in Nigerian hospitals.

Osodeke said the Union’s major problem with the government is not the fund but lack of commitment adding that if the government wants to resolve the issue before the end of this week it can do so.

Speaking on the issue of Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), collecting money from students while universities remained closed, he said the Board’s power needs to be reduced.