Ensuring Quality Education For Nigerians Is Collective Responsibility – Group

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By: Mayen Etim

KADUNA, North-West, Nigeria – The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, (CHRICED), has said the task of ensuring provision of quality and basic education for Nigerians is a collective responsibility.

The Executive Director of CHRICED, Dr. Ibrahim Zikirullahi who made the assertion during a press briefing in Zaria recently, said no single actor can claim monopoly of the process.

Zikirullahi who spoke through CHRICED Media Associate, Mr. Armsfree Ajanaku, said there is need for communities to demand for accountability and track projects implemented in their areas for effective delivery of quality service in the basic education sector in Kaduna state.
He explained that basic education is one such area where cost effective and innovative projects can be executed to meet the needs of the people especially in rural areas where there are no schools, and absence of government attention and the local government administration.
He also said that one of the fundamental issues raised at a recently held Community Accountability Report Back sessions in three Local Government Areas of  Kauru, Kubau and Zaria was lack of a comprehensive need assessment as a precursor to projects execution.
He called on citizens across the LGAs to get engaged and ensure their administrators are held accountable with respect to what they do with their funds; and appealed to all tiers of government, to make concerted efforts towards the development of education at basic levels.

“Let me state that the overall task of ensuring quality and basic education for the children of this country is a collective responsibility.

“Importantly, with the new opportunity provided by the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, (NFIU), guidelines, which prohibits state governors from interfering with and cornering financial resources belonging to LGAs, the Local Councils no longer have an excuse not to deliver on good governance.

“This is a very important issue because community ownership and interest in UBE projects would only be enhanced if they are driven by the actual needs of the people, and not by arbitrary allocation and execution of the projects.

“This is an area where as an organization, we have adopted proactive and sustainable approaches by encouraging communities to take up the challenge by documenting their needs through letters, community charters and project demands, such that their basic education needs are clear enough to the agencies on the side of the government.

“It is pertinent to note therefore that the challenges, which affect the delivery of quality service in the basic education sector, have to be amplified outside the communities in order to elicit action from government actors,” he said.

Dr. Zikirullahi who commended the media for beaming their searchlight on the education sector, however said more is needed to be done to reflect the scale of problems in the sector for prompt action from relevant government agencies.

CHRICED is piloting a social project of mobilizing communities for accountability demands, and track projects which are being implemented in three focal Local Government Areas of Kauru, Kubau and Zaria, with the support from MacArthur Foundation.

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