The Nigerian government has announced its intention to increase funding for the education sector by 25% in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) of providing universal, inclusive and equitable basic education for all school-age children by 2030. The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, made this revelation at the 2021 and 2022 Nigeria Annual Education Conference (NAEC) held in Abuja on Monday.
Prof. Mamman said that President Bola Tinubu had directed the return of the 10.5 million out-of-school children to school at the expiration of his tenure.
He also said that his administration would bridge the gaps between education policy statements and their actualisation outcomes, and ensure that Nigerians enjoy inclusive, equitable, quality education and life-long opportunities.
Prof. Mamman stressed the importance of equipping the basic and secondary schools with appropriate skills template for creativity and research. He said that society that had benefitted from education were known for nurturing of creativity and research, which starts from the lower levels. He added that there was need for implementation strategies to provide mechanisms for constant monitoring and evaluation of policies, to ensure the SDG goals were achieved.
The minister expressed concern over the state of insecurity in the schools and nation at large, lamenting the recent killing of one Miss Deborah Atanda, a nursing student of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti few days ago. He directed the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, in concerted efforts with the security, to uncover the perpetrators of the killing.
He called on various stakeholders in the education sector to work with the Federal Ministry of Education and agencies as well as State Ministries of Education to identify innovative approaches for improved funding. Likewise, he urged the Federal Ministry of Education and agencies to work together to ensure inclusive, equitable, quality education and life-long opportunities. Furthermore, he urged the Federal Ministry of Education and agencies to work together to ensure inclusive, quality education and life-long opportunities.
The NAEC, which was delayed due to COVID-19 recovery, had the theme “Implementation of Education 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Nigeria”. It was attended by various stakeholders in the education sector, including representatives from the United Kingdom, who pledged their support for Nigeria in actualising the 2030 SDG agenda and ensuring every child receives quality education.
