The Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA) has called for stakeholders partnership with key state actors toward repositioning the education sector.
Mr Babatunde Omole, National Moderator, CSACEFA, made this known in Abuja on Thursday at the Annual General Forum (AGF) of the organisation.
The forum has the theme:’ Repositioning and Strengthening Civil Society Partnership Stakeholders for Attainment of the Right to Education and Sustainable Financial beyond COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria’.
Omole noted that it was not only important clamoring for 20 per cent allocation of budget to education but what was of paramount was looking inward to ensure the little allocated was used judiciously.
According to him, education is not something that we converge and talk about extensively without taking it serious.
“ To build our nation having sustainable development is education. This theme is apt because we have realised that non-state actors are key players in the development of education in our country.
“ There is no way we can do this if we do not reposition ourselves as key players to move the nation’s educational sector forward.
“We are clamoring for 20 per cent allocation of the budget to education but we need to look inward on how we are guiding state actors to ensure the little allocated are extensively used.
“We need to refocus on our outcome and impact positively. It does not matter the huge amount invested into education but what matters is how impactful the amount will be,” he said.
Omole also said that there was need to begin to consider the challenges in terms of education resources to meet indicators of global education.
Also, Mrs Odinakachi Ahanonu, the policy advisor of CSACEFA, said there was need for development partners to work more closely with the coalition to strengthen the governance and institutional capacity of the coalition and its members.
Ahanonu, while reeling out the achievement of the coalition in the past 20 years, called on the Federal Government to hit the ground running on the implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration Guidelines.
She also called on the Federal Government to fulfill the pledge of increasing the education budget to meet the global target of 20 to 25 per cent of the national budget.
She added that there was also need for the state governments to access the matching grants to develop the education of their various states.
“ We have billions of naira laying fallow in CBN, yet states are not properly funding education.
“ The national personnel audit 2018 reveals that our infrastructures at states level is nothing compared to standard and teachers student ratio is one to 86 and in some cases one to 126,” she said.
She, therefore, commended President Muhammadu Buhari on pledge to progressively increase education funds to 50 per cent over two years and the increase in the consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for UBEC funding.
Also, a keynote speaker, Dr Mark Ojukwu, said that stakeholders played key role in ensuring the rights to education and education financial of a country, hence the need for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to get it right.
Ojukwu said so many CSOs who have tried get involved in education thereby getting funding from international donors were no more because they lack policy directions.
He charged the organisation and other stakeholders to redefine their mission towards addressing the education needs of the people.(NAN)