Maryam Abeeb
The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has assured commitment to implement and enforce multiple programs on inclusive education – Girl-Child Education, Special Needs Education, Adult and Mass literacy and Alternate School Programmes with priority accorded to retention and completion rates in primary and secondary schools.
President Buhari who gave this assurance at a Global Education Summit in London, United Kingdom stated that the government is set towards revatalizing the teaching profession in Nigeria by introducing incentives to attract and retain the best brains in the profession.
He reiterated that Government of Nigeria is committed to ensure that total education spending increases by 50% over the next two years and up to 100% within the next five years (2021 – 2025).
He stated, “We also undertake to work with, and ensure that every State in our Federation progresses towards or maintains spending levels above 20% of their total budget to achieve national minimum standards for education outcomes.
“We are considering legislation to increase education tax from the current 2% to 3%, to cater for tertiary education; and to also increase the allocation from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) to support basic and secondary education from 2% to 4%.
“We shall also expand and deepen our collaboration with development partners such as GPE, UK FCDO, USAID, the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF and the European Union as well as the organised private sector to mobilize additional resources for sustainable funding of education in our country.
“To implement and enforce multiple programs on inclusive education – Girl-Child Education, Special Needs Education, Adult and Mass literacy and Alternate School Programmes with priority accorded to retention and completion rates in primary and secondary schools.
“Revitalizing the teaching profession in Nigeria by introducing incentives to attract and retain the best brains in the profession.
“By harnessing all these policies and financial resources, and with the support of GPE and other partners, we are confident that we shall bequeath a more functional, equitable and globally competitive education system to the present and future generations of Nigerian children.
