Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on Tuesday, called for an upward review of the 2021 budget for the education sector.
Mr Adamu made the call in Abuja, during his presentation to the House Committee on Basic Education and Service, on oversight visit to the ministry.
He described the challenge of out-of-school children being faced by the sector as worrisome, saying it required urgent attention.
Based on government data, not less than 10.1 million children below age age 13 are not enrolled in school just as over 315,000 classrooms are said to be in bad condition across the country.
The minister appealed to members of the committee to assist in the upward review of the 2021 budget, for the sector.
“In our determination to adequately address the issue of out-of-school children in the country, various strategies have been put in place for 2020 budget.
“Sensitisation of traditional and religious rulers, state governors’ investment in basic education and access to Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) funds, awards of scholarship, and location of schools and literacy centres nearer to the communities for proximity, were among the strategies,” the minister said.
He identified other challenges of the sector to include acute shortage of classrooms, hostels, laboratories and library facilities.
Others include inadequate teaching personnel as well as unqualified teachers, poor and inadequate provision of information and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) facilities in schools.
Adamu, therefore, commended the efforts made by the members of the committee to combat these issues and appealed for more support to the ministry, in its drive to make education better for Nigerian citizens.
“We shall continue to give all the necessary support to the committee, toward the realisation of its dream of moving basic education sector to greater heights,” he said.
EduCeleb.com earlier reported that the House committee was at the UBEC headquarters as well where the commission’s chief, Hamid Bobboyi told legislators that over N70 billion basic education funds have not been accessed by states.
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