Pupils sit on floor in 50% Nigerian schools – UBEC

The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Hamid Bobboyi, has said pupils sit on the floor to learn in over 50 per cent of schools in the country. 

He also said emerging constraints in basic education delivery in the country might necessitate an increase in the consolidated revenue funds from the current two per cent to four per cent.

According to him, the rising students’ population also posed an urgent need for teaching facilities. 

Bobboyi made the plea on Tuesday at a one-day Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Legislative Round Table Meeting in Abuja, where some national and state houses of assembly members were present.

The UBEC boss equally tasked relevant civil society organisations, the media and other critical stakeholders not to shy away from assisting the government in bridging observed gaps in learning and teaching processes, especially at the basic school level.

A representative of MacArthur Foundation, Mr Dayo Olaoye, called on stakeholders to review the impact of the country’s annual budget on education.

He emphasised the need for accountability in the educational sector, noting that in addition to vertical accountability, there was the need to entrench horizontal accountability whereby the office of the accountant general strengthens other accounting offices to ensure transparency in the sector.