The Federal Government has directed the Universal Basic Education Commission’s (UBEC) to allocate two per cent of its operational funds to quality assurance.
Mr Ossom Ossom, Head Public Relations and Protocol Unit, UBEC, who disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, said earmarking two per cent of UBEC’s operational fund for quality assurance was a fundamental step toward improving the funding arrangement.
He added that it would ensure the institutionalisation of a robust, functional, comprehensive, sustainable, effective, and efficient quality assurance system at the SUBEB and Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) levels.
“Earmarking 2 per cent of UBEC’s operational fund for quality assurance is a fundamental step toward improving the funding arrangement and ensuring the institutionalisation of a robust, functional, comprehensive, sustainable, effective, and efficient quality assurance system at the SUBEB and LGEA levels.
“The newly instituted funding arrangement seeks to empower quality assurance personnel at all levels in the conduct of quality assurance related field work.
“10 to 20 per cent of the quality assurance fund is expected to be utilised for strengthening Quality Assurance Departments at SUBEBs and LGEAs.
“20 to 35 per cent is to be used for empowering quality assurance personnel while 50 to 60 per cent is designated to be expended on the purchase of monitoring vehicles and related issues,” he said
Ossom said the renewed interest and commitment to reinvigorating the quality assurance process in the basic education sub-sector through the new framework and improved funding was bound to impact positively on all aspects of school life.
He said it would ultimately complement other efforts geared towards ensuring that competitive standards were attained and sustained in UBE delivery.
“There are sufficient reasons to be optimistic that this new quality assurance initiative will enliven and set UBEC and its state partners on the right path in their efforts at monitoring, assessing, evaluating, reporting and taking positive steps toward enhancing UBE quality assurance mechanism.
“Firstly, this renewed quality assurance drive is the outcome of deliberations by an expert Committee set up by UBEC for this purpose and chaired by an accomplished academic and one-time Acting UBEC Executive Secretary, Prof. Charles Onocha.
“Secondly, critical stakeholders including heads of basic education agencies at the State level have reviewed and applauded the provisions contained in the new framework.
“Finally, the UBEC Governing Board has thrown its weight behind the new quality assurance thinking by granting express approval for the allocation of specific resources for its implementation.
” Consequently, UBEC quality assurance personnel, their State and LGEA counterparts are delighted at the new development and have pledged to work assiduously towards attaining the objective of instituting and sustaining quality inputs, processes and outcomes in basic education delivery,” he said.
He said it was important to emphasize that the basic education sector required much more than nice frameworks, efficient resourcing and committed personnel.
Ossom said it should also be noted that the support of stakeholders, especially school level actors was crucial to the attainment of the noble objectives of the new quality assurance framework.
He said it, therefore, behooved on basic education stakeholders, particularly system administrators at the state and LGEA level, school heads, teachers and other members of the school/community to brace up for proactive collaboration with UBEC.
“This will help UBEC in its bid to reinvigorate the process of enhancing the various inputs and processes that are critical to the attainment of the full objectives of the UBE programme.
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