The Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, has disclosed that Nigeria needs additional 20,000 schools and 907,769 classrooms to absorb the growing number of out-of-school children.
The executive secretary who stated this while briefing the Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman during his meeting with parastatals and agencies under the supervision of the ministry, identified infrastructural gaps, inadequate manpower as some of the challenges facing the commission in its efforts towards ensuring equitable access to quality basic education.
Reacting, the minister gave strong indications that his administration would prioritize basic education in the country, emphasizing that the foundation level is the most critical segment in the sector which must be properly developed in order to impact positively on other tiers of the sector and overall national development.
Prof Mamman used the occasion to call on all the states of the federation to show greater commitment towards providing counterpart funding to accelerate the development of basic education in the country.
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He maintained that the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that every Nigerian child is educated.
The minister noted that the forthcoming national census would put paid to the controversies surrounding the actual figures of out-of-school children.
Speaking, Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, emphasized that all hands must be on deck to ensure that children get the desired education to prepare them for the future.
Dr. Sununu directed the UBEC Chief Executive to take the struggle for counterpart funding to the door step of state governors explaining that an uneducated child is a clear danger to himself and society at large.
