The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi, has said that Nigeria needs an additional 20,000 schools and 907,769 classrooms to be able to absorb the growing number of out-of-school children.
Briefing the Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, during his meeting with parastatals and agencies under the supervision of the ministry, Bobboyi identified infrastructural gaps and inadequate manpower as some of the challenges facing the commission in its efforts towards ensuring equitable access to quality basic education.
The minister, while responding, assured that his administration would prioritise basic education in the country, saying 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 called 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.
According to him, “The government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that every Nigerian child is educated.”
The minister assured that the forthcoming national census would put an end to the controversies surrounding the actual figures of out-of-school children.
Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, the Minister of State for Education, emphasised that all hands must be on deck to ensure that children get the desired education to prepare them for the future.
