Why we may not achieve UBE objectives
EDUCATION has
been classified as
one of the basic and foremost sector, all over the world, that due recognition and great priority must be given to, in all ramifications. As part of the efforts at improving the education sector in Nigeria, the Universal Basic Education Programme (UBE) was introduced in 1999 by the Obasanjo administration. It was introduced to enhance national socio-economic development as a consequence of a free and compulsory regime of basic education for the citizenry.
Under section 18 (1) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, government is enjoined to provide free and compulsory basic education among other educational objectives. In other words, government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy hence providing free, compulsory and universal primary education; free secondary education; free university education; and free adult literacy programme. This must have informed the idea of UBE by the Obasanjo administration.
The UBE programme has as its objectives: developing in the entire citizenry, a strong consciousness for education and a strong commitment to its vigorous promotion; the provision of free, universal basic education for every Nigerian child of school age; reducing drastically the incidence of drop-outs from formal school system, through improved relevance, quality and efficiency; catering for the learning needs of young persons, who for one reason or another have had to interrupt their schooling, through appropriate forms of complementary approaches to the promotion of basic education; ensuring the acquisition of the appropriate levels of literacy, numeric knowledge, communicative and life skills as well as the ethical, moral and civic values needed for laying a solid foundation for lifelong learning.
Going by the above, one would expect that the educational sector in Nigeria will take a quantum leap to improvement but the reverse is, sadly, the case. It is disheartening to note that the education system in the country is nothing to write home about considering so many factors which is proving to be unachievable considering the pace at which education in Nigeria is progressing.
The fact is, with the way the education sector in Nigeria is being run, the objectives of UBE may not materialise.
The main aim of the UBE is to ensure that every Nigerian is educated but just look at how our higher institutions of learning are making it impossible to be educated with the very high fees they are all charging now. Ideally, education should be free even up to the university level. But let us even grant that government may not be able to afford that now and so we must still pay some fees. It is however ideal that government should subsidise tuition fees so that the people can afford education. Exorbitant tuition is however the order of the day in our higher institutions of learning. This is sad.
In the light of this, the best the government can do is to give parents the opportunity to send their wards to school without much upheaval whatsoever by asking our higher institutions of learning to bring down the exorbitant fees they are demanding now. The increase in fees by MAPOLY is a case in point here and the Ogun State government must do something about it.
In all, the federal government of Nigeria must do all it can to achieve the objectives of the UBE by subsidising education in the counrty.
Isaiah Banjo,
Abeokuta,
Ogun State.
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