UBEC: Inadequate data stalls basic education

The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, has said lack of accurate data is one of the challenges facing basic education in the country.

Dr. Bobboyi who was the lead speaker at the 2017 Wole Soyinka Media Lecture Series with the theme, “Light Up, Light In: Interrogating the Nexus Between Electricity and Basic Education”, held in Abuja, said poor data was one of the impediments to the success of basic education.

“Part of the problems we are facing is the absence of accurate research-based data that will enable us capture statistic like that of out-of-school children, teacher-student ratio and other relevant issues in the country,” he said.

Bobboyi further said some states had not paid their counterpart funds to access the matching grant from UBEC.

In his remarks, Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Anthony Akah, said electricity was central to all aspects of human life and a key driver to successful basic education.

Speaking earlier, a former minister of education, Obi Ezekwesili, said there was the need for collective approach to basic education and electricity.

A Professor of Counselling Psychology, Lagos State University (LASU), Olabisi Obadofin, said that teachers in the country shunned their posting to communities that lacked electricity.