By Mariam Abeeb
The newly appointed Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Aisha Garba, has assumed duty with the promise to deploy strategies to advance delivery of quality basic education for the millions of school-aged children in Nigeria.
Garba who spoke during a meeting with members of management and staff of the commission in Abuja, emphasised that education is the right of every Nigerian child regardless of religion, class, gender or economic condition as captured in the Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
She lamented that with approximated 17 million children, Nigeria has one of the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, constituting a staggering obstacle to the nation’s progress towards universal access to education for every Nigerian child.
She added that even when children are in school, they are lagging behind in learning outcomes.
“According to a World Bank Capital Index, students in Nigeria score 309 on a harmonized test score scale, where 625 is considered advanced attainment and 300 represents minimum attainment.
“And according to UNICEF, the primary school completion rate for Nigeria was at 59% in 2020 for boys and 51% for girls. The secondary school completion rate is even lower, with boys at 42% and girls at 36%.
“Access to higher education is still a challenge: while about 2 million candidates sit for the JAMB examinations every year, only about 500,000 are accepted,” she stated.
The UBEC boss, extended appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Ministers of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa and Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad for her appointment to serve the nation.
She highlighted the importance of partnership and collaboration to drive development of basic education in the country.
