By Giwa SHILE
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) says it has instituted a new intervention aimed at facilitating result-oriented advocacy, sensitisation and mobilisation of grassroots actors for school development.
Mr Ossom Ossom, Head of Public Relations and Protocol, UBEC, made the disclosure in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.
Ossom said that the new intervention was titled; “School Based Management Committee-School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP)”.
He said that the SBMC- SIP would focus on the implementation of priority school level projects through indigenous community-initiated self-help projects anchored, implemented, maintained and sustained by community members.
Ossom, however, said that UBEC would provide the financial and technical support.
He said UBEC was “fully aware of the fact that the overall success of basic education in Nigeria depends largely on the level of community awareness, participation and support to the programme.
“UBEC is instituting a new intervention for school development whereby basic education stakeholders, especially those at the school level will play a more decisive role.
‘‘This role will involve initiating and executing projects that have direct bearing on the improvement of access, quality and equity in basic education delivery in their domains.”
He said that the commission was organising a-five-day training for master trainers to ensure that school level actors who would be part of the SBMC-SIP process were adequately prepared and provided the necessary skills.
Ossom said that the Master Training Workshop, which was one of the pre-SBMC-SIP take-off activities, was seen as key to the success of the programme.
He said that the 137 trainees, who were drawn from UBEC and SUBEBS, would in turn train school level officials and organs implementing the SBMC-SIP.
“The participants so trained will be required to replicate the training for SBMCs at State and Local Government Education Authority levels and where necessary, Community-based Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Ossom said that the training which commenced on Monday in Lokoja, would be completed on March 22.
He said that resource persons for the training were drawn from UNICEF, the academia, education and civil society organisations.
Ossom said that UBEC had also developed a comprehensive Social Mobilisation Handbook to support the SBMC-SIP and ensure it succeeded.
He opined that UBEC anticipated that the new initiative, which emphasised effective engagement with various school level partners, would further promote basic education delivery and ownership in the country.
Dr Hamid Bobboyi, the Executive Secretary, UBEC, while declaring the five-day training open, urged participants to demonstrate strong commitment by devoting themselves to the training in order to derive optimum benefit from it.
Bobboyi, represented by UBEC Director, Social Mobilisation, Alhaji Bello Kagara, noted that SBMCs had been globally recognised as school development agents.
‘‘UBEC intends to create an enabling environment for their active involvement in the SIP toward reinvigorating community support for school development initiatives.’’
He said that it would also be ‘‘promoting community participation, complementing government efforts in the management of schools and also serving as catalysts for community ownership of basic education delivery services.” ===NAN
