As part of its legislative responsibilities, the Senate Committee on Education (basic and secondary) visited the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Digital Resource Centre (DRC) as the Commission’s primary oversight body and in accordance with Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to assess the level of compliance with and performance in the full implementation of the 2023/24 Budget in relation to the Commission’s mandates.
The senators who had assessed the budget implementation level of the Commission scored the Commission high; however, some of the members of the Committee drew the attention of the Commission to the need to reintroduce the teaching of history into the basic education curriculum, stating that it will help the younger generation appreciate the rich culture and history of the country as well as the efforts of our founding fathers in the development and ensuring the unity of the country.
The Committee members also emphasised the importance of incorporating vocational and technical education into the curriculum, as well as the introduction of moral education in addressing moral decadence in our society. The Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, informed the Members that the Commission had introduced vocational education and built vocational schools across the country through the school-to-work program. Dr. Hamid Bobboyi Bobboyi also informed the Committee that the Commission had built 37 Model Smart Schools around the country including in the FCT, with 26 of them having already started academic activities. It also informed Senators about the presence of 109 E-learning centers across the country’s 109 senate districts in order to promote digital education nationwide. The Committee, which graded the Commission high in the implementation of the 2023/24 budget, promises its support, notably in the amendment of the 2004 UBE Act to enable the seamless implementation of the Basic education program in the country
In a related development, in an effort to promote collaboration and knowledge exchange between Nigeria, Korea and Ghana, KOICA Nigeria led by Aram Lee were at the UBEC Headquarters on 11th November, 2024 to request UBEC’s participation in the scheduled South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) program which KOICA Nigeria Office facilitates. The program which aims at a comparative study of Nigeria’s ICT-based STEM Education policies and system, discusses the performance and outcomes of the Teachers Learning Community (TLC) and field visits to ICT-based STEM education facilities in Nigeria.
The delegation from Ghana was led by Bosung Jeang, KOICA Ghana Office; also on the team were 6 government officials from the Ghana Education Services (GES). As a Key KOICA partner and in recognition of UBEC’s giant strides in advancing Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (TEAM) education and also its promotion of teaching and learning of science and technology in Nigeria. The study tour is intended to assist the Ghana team in developing the next phase ICT-based STEM education project in Ghana.