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John Adams, Minna
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has commended the Niger State Government for the payment of it counterpart funds since 2013, saying that Niger is one of the few states in the country that have made the payments.
The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi, who stated this when he received the state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja, pointed out that the state’s commitment to the payment of its counterpart funds was responsible for the successes recorded by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) so far, as he pledged UBEC’s continued support.
The Executive Secretary was full of praises for the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB) for accessing its counterpart fund.
The UBEC boss, lauding Bello, said: “The governor meant well for the upliftment of Basic education in the state”.
Earlier, Governor Bello had appealed to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to accord special attention to technical and vocational education for entrepreneurship skills development that would create job opportunities for the growing number of unemployed youths in the state.
The Governor also solicited the support of the commission in ensuring that religious studies is reintroduced into the school curriculum to assist in the revival of moral values and possibly eliminate the Almajiri phenomenon that has become a security threat in the country.
Whilst acknowledging that some parents are shying away from their responsibilities of training their children, the governor maintained that the government must come up with measures that would take the Almajiris out of Nigerian streets.
He urged the UBEC to make funds available to cater for special needs and disabled students, adding that special care for them will remove shame and stigma and boost their confidence.
While appreciating the support received by the state from the UBEC, Governor Bello expressed displeasure over the deficit in school furniture and appealed to the commission for upward review of the 20 per cent allocation for furniture from the counterpart fund.
The governor, who used the opportunity to highlight some of the achievements of his administration in the education sector, told his host that since coming on board in 2015, his administration has constructed and or renovated over 2,500 schools across the state, 22 or which were completely overhauled under the administration’s pragmatic ‘Whole Schools Development Approach’.
The government has, through SUBEB, recruited 2,500 Teachers and also established the Teacher Professional Development Institute (NSTPDI) in the three geopolitical zones of the state in a deliberate attempt to revive the seemingly comatose profession in the state, Governor Bello noted.
