Stakeholders urge the Nigerian government to increase funding for primary education.

Folalumi Alaran

Stakeholders have urged the Federal Government and state officials to secure the survival of primary education in Nigeria by hiring qualified personnel and devoting more funding to the sector in order to guarantee that students are offered high-quality education across the nation.

The Executive Director of YouthHubAfrica, Rotimi Olawale, stated during a session on Basic Education Performance Ranking for the 36 States and the FCT yesterday in Abuja that despite many governments’ investments in schools, it appears that students are not receiving a high-quality education.

He claimed that just a few states in Nigeria provided primary education up to par with the rest of the world.

Rotimi urged the state government to go beyond the simple construction and commissioning of schools by achieving the goal of providing learners with high-quality education.

The Executive Director however emphasized that the initiative is not intended to put the government in the public eye.

Programs Officer at the Replanting Education Initiative Blessing Tarfa said in addition that, only 6 states were able to reach the 7.5% budget allocation in education, while also noting that 29 states did not meet the requirement at all.

According to the report launched, Gombe, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara did not score any point which means the states did not meet the minimum basic education recommendations, while the best performing eleven States are Ondo with 98%, Ebonyi 90% , Rivers 85% amongst others.

Victor Arokoyo, the director of programs for Christian Aid, demanded that the federal government make the budget and funding for elementary education public and accountable.

In addition, he urged the government to address the issue of out-of-school pupils, arguing that equitable education has the ability to combat poverty, diminish inequality, and improve public health.