Stakeholders in the education sector have faulted the education budget in the 2023 national budget, saying that it falls short of the recommendation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
They made this known in an interview with the media in Abuja.
They argued that without adequate investment in education, other sectors would also suffer.
NAN reports that UNESCO recommends that developing countries should dedicate 15 to 20 percent of their annual budget to public education.
In 2021, Heads of State and Government and Ministers of Education from more than 40 countries adopted the Paris Declaration, a global appeal initiated by UNESCO and France to increase investment in education in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Chairman of, the Private School Owners Association, Prof. Gregory Ibe, told the media that there was a considerable increase in the 2023 budget for education compared to the 2022 budget, adding that more funding was required in the education sector to make an impact required.
” It appears we’re playing deaf ear to the major thing that can save the Nigerian education system. The education budget takes N470 billion out of the total budget for the 2023 fiscal year which is still on the low side.
‘ There’s no amount of money you will put into the university system, polytechnic higher education, secondary school, or basic school that will make the impact that is required.
” What I’m saying is that if you want to develop a nation and you fail to develop the children of that nation, then forget it. You are not getting it right.
” There’s no amount of property you sell that can be equated to you investing in the education of your children.
“So the first thing that the president ought to do is to privatize institutions of high learning the same way that they brought it to NNPC as they fuse private individuals in there,” he said.
Ibe, who is also the Chancellor, of Gregory University, Uturu, Abia, said that for education to get its rightful place, 40 percent of all education institutions must have public/private partnerships.
” I’ve been preaching on this matter that in order to stop all these strikes actions, sell 40 percent of all institutions to private individuals.
” So that the school now will become private/government ownership by selling 60 percent to private individuals and the government should hold 40 percent.
” If this is done, there will be change and there will be quality. There will be sanity in the system and salaries will be paid,” he said.
The chancellor advised the federal government to provide financial aid to Nigerian youths so that they could have tertiary education by revamping the federal scholarship board.
He suggested N2 million as a scholarship to students on annual basis to be given to Nigerian youths payable while spreading it over a number of years.
He said this would have an impact on the Nigerian youths especially those in the northern region whose parents could not afford to pay their school fees as a result of poverty.
” This money is given will be payable through revolving money. 60 percent of northern Nigerian youth are not able to go to school because their parents cannot afford the fee.
” Even with the free education, they are not encouraged to enjoy it. They cannot even enjoy free education so they cannot even also pay for school fees.
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” So, with this revolving money and financial aid plan, 60 percent of the Northern Youth will go to school when all of us have the opportunity of receiving education and this will translate to the development of the country,” he said.
Also, a Political Analyst, Mr. Rotimi Lawrence said that going to UNESCO's recommendation, this figure was far from the ideal of global standards.
Lawrence decried the negative downwards effects of the low budgetary allocation to the education sector by the federal government.
He, therefore, called for better funding especially for government-owned universities so as to avert the seemingly endless strike actions by academic unions.
” Looking at the population of young people with zeal and energy bubbling with visions, the government must have a marshall plan in tackling youth restiveness through a deliberate policy on education particularly vocational training.
” We are also in a global village and there is a paradigm shift from natural resources to human capital. Therefore, the government must increase spending on human capital to fight literacy, out-of-school children syndrome, girl-child education, and early child marriage,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Jacobs Ogundele, an Auditor commended the federal government for increasing education saying that it was a right step in the right direction.
Ogundele, who emphasized that the increase will positively impact the sector, called for more increases in the subsequent fiscal year.
” I think the national assembly is still going through it so it is still an appropriation bill but not yet a budget.
” However, it is a slide increment from that of 2022 that is still running. The university will enjoy the better part of it while polytechnic and colleges of education will also have their shares.
” Unity schools and other recurrent activities will also enjoy the remaining. So, if the government can actually release the said amount of N2.05 trillion, I think the sector will do more in the 2023 fiscal year,” he said.
The education budget in the 2021 national budget stood at 5.6 percent.
Compared to the 50 percent that was promised, this shows that the 5.6 percent budget in 2021 was however equivalent to 2.8 percent.
Similarly, in the 2022 national budget, education budget stood at 5.39 per cent of the national budget which is N923.79 billion out of the total budget of N17.13 trillion.
However, for the 2023 budget, N2.05 trillion which is 10 per cent of the entire budget of N20.51 trillion was for the education sector, paltry N470 billion is earmarked for tertiary education revitalization and salary enhancement.
Also, N1.23 trillion is the provision for the Federal Ministry of Education and its agencies for recurrent and capital expenditure with the other amount voted for UBEC and TETFUND.
