The Universal Basic Education Commission said 73 per cent of public Junior Secondary School pupils do not have furniture.
This was part of a presentation by UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, at the one-day meeting with the organised private sector on the implementation of the UBE programme in Nigeria held in Lagos.
The report added that 45 per cent of private Junior Secondary School schools also lacked school furniture.
The event was organised by UBEC in collaboration with Private Sector Advisory Group.
Bobboyi explained that there exists a high deficit in physical infrastructure provision in schools.
He said, “Teaching takes place in a poor learning environment. 40 per cent of classrooms are in bad condition in the basic education subsector, the poor condition of classrooms cut across all geo-political zones.
“As of 2022, 907,769 additional classrooms were required in primary schools, and 200,085 were required in junior secondary schools. All geo-political zones are above the standard ratios (learner/classroom and learner/teacher) as specified by the National Policy on Education.
“Generally, a high percentage of learners do not have furniture in both public and private schools. The percentage of schools without toilets is worse in public schools (especially ECCDE and primary) compared to private schools. States are overwhelmed with the scale of dilapidation and scarcity.”
Bobboyi also revealed that public primary schools in the country lacked qualified teachers.
According to him, of the 694,078 teachers required at the level, only 499,202 are available, leaving a gap of 194,876.
He said UBEC envisaged that greater determination and collaboration between the Commission and key stakeholders in the following areas would provide an effective response to the identified gaps.
Bobboyi suggested that the private sector should invest more in basic education delivery towards complementing the efforts of the Federal
Government
“Since government alone cannot meet the huge requirements for quality UBE delivery private entities should commit to taking further responsibility in key aspects of UBE delivery specially creating opportunities for addressing the out-of-school children phenomenon.
“PSAG and other players in the Organised Private Sector are invited to note the aforementioned UBEC Innovative Programmes, all of which are open to collaborations, especially in the following areas: Infrastructural development (creating further access opportunities) to enhance UBE delivery, especially in underserved communities. Sponsoring capacity strengthening and professional development for UBE personnel, especially classroom teachers. Modeling the Future of Basic Education by supporting the replication of UBEC’s Smart School models in States and LGEAs. Facilitating easy access (connectivity) and sustenance of smart learning using digital technology and ICT in the UBEC Smart Schools.”
Senior Technical Advisor, Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Dr Bala Yunusa, explained that the collaboration between the public and private sector would be the game changer.
He added that funding of education was a necessity as poverty was a great challenge.
“Poverty is an issue, during the planting and harvesting seasons, children don’t go to school. Lack of funding will undermine basic education. Schools need to be safe and secure for learning.”
“We need the expertise of the private sector to help us fill the gaps and support in achieving the SDGs. We need a protective partnership to make meaningful progress in UBE.
While speaking on the poor infrastructure in secondary schools across the country, he added that primary and secondary schools were under the state and local government areas, saying the government had provided nine thousand blocks of classrooms across the federal constituencies.