NUT accuses states of neglecting primary education

The Nigeria Union of Teachers at the weekend berated state governments for their failure to access over 40 per cent of the Federal Government matching grant allocated for the implementation of Universal Basic Education (UBE) programmes in their domains.

NUT Secretary-General, Obong Obong, in a statement in Abuja, said the union considered the development as a serious indictment on the states, maintaining that this best describes their lack of concern to developing primary education in the country.

This, Obong said, explained why Nigeria could not meet the expected target of ‘Education For All by 2015.’

According to the NUT chief, “the union considers this development as a serious indictment on those states, which best describes the lack of concern by the affected state governments in the development of public primary education in the country and explains vividly the reason Nigeria could not meet the expected target of attainment of Education For All by 2015.

“Over the years, the Federal Government has set aside 2 per cent of its Consolidated Revenue Fund to improve quality public primary education in the country. State governments inability to access their allocation owing to failure to provide needed matching grants as their requisite counterpart funding is most regrettable and a disservice to the development of primary education across the country, a situation which has degenerated to a point where school pupils in some states receive their lessons under trees,” Obong lamented.

NUT maintained that with the increasing demand for quality Education and infrastructural development in our schools, State governments reluctance to access UBE fund and use same for what it was meant for is a demonstration of gross negligence of their responsibility over the improvement of education in Nigeria.

Over the years, the NUT boss noted, the FG had set aside two per cent of its Consolidated Revenue Fund to improve public primary education in the country. It said it was regrettable that they had failed to access their allocation owing to failure to provide needed matching grants as their requisite counterpart funding.

“The Union hereby calls on all state governors to take urgent steps to access the available funds lying idle at the UBE Commission and use same to address the problems in their primary schools. It is only by so doing that they would have shown some level of concern towards the upliftment of the status of primary education in Nigeria.