PLANE was part of the maiden edition of the Basic Education in Nigeria Bootcamp (BEN-B), organised by the Federal Ministry of Education from 25 to 28 September 2023 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom. The event, with the theme “Improving access to inclusive education for all children in Nigeria towards achieving SDG4”, was supported by various partners including PLANE, UNICEF, The World Bank, British Council and USAID.
BEN-B brought together critical stakeholders in the education sector from different states across the federation and the Federal Capital Territory. These stakeholders were drawn from the state, non-state subsectors as well as development organisations. Together, they discussed and provided recommendations on different issues relating to policies, practices and implementation gaps within the basic education subsector.
During the event, the Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in Nigeria, Dr Hamid Bobboyi presented findings from UBEC assessments in 2018 and 2022, covering the state of schools in Nigeria at basic level, issues around teacher quality and out of school children. The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, who was in attendance acknowledged the weight of issues around basic education, while stating the government’s commitment to ensure majority of out of school children gain access to basic education.
Senior Education Adviser, FCDO, Ian Attfield mentioned that Nigeria’s education system needs to have structures that are fit-for-purpose and enable all children to be enrolled in school. He also stated that the UK Government believes in progress through partnerships, and is proud to support the event through the British Council and PLANE.
PLANE supported two panel sessions at the bootcamp over a 3-day period. While the first (Panel 1) focusses on access to inclusive education in formal and non-formal settings and issues of out of school children by states, the other (Panel 3) dwells on teachers’ recruitment, training, deployment and professional development. Two other panel sessions equally supported by partners will look at improving the quality of learning outcomes (Panel 2) and lastly, cross-cutting issues such as data, safety, inclusiveness, governance etc (Panel 4).
The BEN-B was a successful event where all key stakeholders showed commitment, demonstrated willingness to work together and provided useful recommendations, which can pave way for meaningful education reforms in Nigeria, especially at the basic education level, if carefully followed through.
