Follow Us on Google
From Joe Effiong, Uyo
The United Women for Economic Empowerment (UWEE), an NGO, has tasked the Akwa Ibom State Government to domesticate and implement the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) system introduced for effective management of the basic education in states.
The NGO has also charged the state government and its agencies in the education sector, to ensure equal distribution and allocation of projects and facilities such as desks and other materials to schools in the state
According to UWEE, the SMBC policy was introduced in several countries, with Nigeria inclusive, to decentralise authority to the school level as a worldwide educational reform strategy which is rapidly becoming the centrepiece of the current wave of educational reform.
In Nigeria, the SBMC system was introduced in 2006 and has since been adopted by the northern states, while states in the South-South are yet to key into it.
At the mid-term project review meeting put up by WUEE, participants drawn from the three select local government areas of Ibesikpo Asutan, Onna and Ikono comprising principals, head teachers, SBMCs, village heads, community members, etc. noted that though SBMC has been established in the state, the system is not so effective.
It was observed that while the system has been established in some public primary and secondary Schools in the state, others have no such committee in place.
Participants observed that for the system to be functional in schools in the state, the government should domesticate it for the proper functioning of schools.
Reacting to claims by all participants, the SBMC Desk Officer in the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mrs Helen Peter, said enough sensitisation on SBMC has been done in the state, recalling that meetings were held with head teachers in 2018 and with village heads in local government areas in 2019 in which were enlightened on the system.
She made known that some village heads were not in attendance including those from Ikono and that she later met with their stakeholders last year, where they were also sensitized to the policy.
Peter, who attributed behaviours of some village heads to illiteracy and their inability to embrace new trends and modernization way of life, stressed the need for SBMCs to have connections with influential people in their areas who can assist them.
The project officer for WUEE, Mr Joshua Nya described education as the most imperative ingredient of life and development which require proper planning and management, particularly at the primary and Junior Secondary School levels, which are foundations which all other levels are built upon.
Read also: Delta monarch admonishes journalists to be objectivity
He noted that the need for effective management of this level of education led to the introduction of the School-Based Management Committee, SBMC, in several countries, including Nigeria.
The system, he stated, has been established in Akwa Ibom State in some public Primary and Secondary Schools with the composition of 17 members who are to work with school authorities to achieve positive results.
Nya said the mid-term project review meeting was to discuss project implementation results on identified issues relating to public financial management and performance in the basic education sector across the three select local government areas of Ibesikpo Asutan, Ikono and Onna.
The forum, sponsored by the United State Agency for International Development, USAID on transparency in education financing is a State2State project on Action for Strengthening State Accountability, Transparency and Citizens’ Engagement activities in the basic education sector of the state.
Participants pointed out that while enough classroom blocks are provided in some schools, few classrooms are built in other schools, even as desks are not assigned equally, stressing the need for fairness on the part of SUBEB in the distribution of classroom blocks and allocation of desks to schools in the state.
It was also suggested that there should be a follow-up by SUBEB to ensure that items sent to schools by them are actually delivered.
Participants who noted that public schools in some states were more comfortable than private schools due to the infrastructure provided, observed that the Akwa Ibom State Government has done well in the provision of infrastructure in schools in the state but that those facilities were provided by schools cited on major roads.
They enjoined SUBEB to, as one of their administrative functions, go around schools to assess their conditions and recommend those who need attention to the government.
The project officer, WUEE, Mr Joshua Nya in his remark recalled that as an organization, WUEE has implemented several international agencies’ funded projects across states in the Niger Delta ranging from skills development, training, empowerment, conducted empowerment programmes for 300 Akwa Ibom girls from select local government areas, among others.
He said, so far, WUEE which was established as a project tagged, “sowing seeds of faith” and later registered as an NGO in 2002 with its present name, has impacted the lives of over 7000 indigenes of the state through various projects funded by international agencies.
