FG sets up school management committees in states

Yekini Jimoh, Ilorin - 07.02.2008

AS a way of combating the challenges facing quality education delivery in the country, the Federal Government has put in place Schools Based Management Committees (SBMC) in all the 36 states of the federation.

The development, according to the government, is in line with the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act, 2004 which mandated the UBE/SUBEB to initiate activities that would allow all the stakeholders in education to have a say in the overall development of education in the country.

The Chairman, Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji AbdulGafar Alaro, disclosed this at the inauguration of the state chapter of the SBMC in Ilorin.

According to him, the setting up of the SBMC was aimed at community participation in the development of education in the country.

“ I want to say that the School Based Management Committee is the new concept by education planners in Nigeria as a way forward in ensuring sustainability of our education system,” he said.

He said that “considering the challenges facing quality education delivery in our country, it is evident that there is a compelling need for all stakeholders in the sector to make genuine and concerted commitment towards pooling together resources, intellectual ability and capabilities towards ensuring that basic education delivery does not become an overbearing task borne by an entity called government.”

The chairman stressed that this was the reason the paradigm for school management had to change from centralisation and exclusion to decentralisation and inclusion.