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GOVERNANCE OF EDUCATIONSERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIAFragile states seminar
7 January 2009
Stephen Baines
Does Nigeria qualify as fragile? World’s sixth largest oil producer Most populous African country A democracy with the army in barracks A functioning federal system of government A political vision for Nigeria’s future role in
the world: 20-2020 A memory of civil conflict that drives a
desire for compromise and ethnic, geographical and religious even-handedness.
On the other hand…
Economy highly dependent on oil A poor track record in using national
resources to develop the economy Very high disparity between rich and poor Social sectors that have seriously declined
through neglect and mismanagement. Government services dysfunctional and
inefficient Pervading culture of lack of trust Continuing lawlessness in the delta and
occasional inter-ethnic violence
How does this affect education? Low levels of participation in education (girls
in the North, boys in the South) Poor attainment in basic literacy and
numeracy Poor physical infrastructure and lack of
facilities, sanitation, learning materials etc Bad teaching Lack of management Serious under-funding at the point of delivery Little sense of community “ownership” of
schools
What are the reasons for the dire state of public education? The problem is not lack of overall funding, but
how the funding is accessed and used. Under-utilisation of funds due to Federal-State
government tensions e.g. UBE Intervention Fund No clear relation between planning, budgeting
and what actually happens Off-budget expenditure and diversion of
allocations for other purposes Funds allocated not always released Proliferation of parastatal bodies
21 federal bodies under Federal Ministry of Education
11 bodies responsible for inspecting schools in Kano State
More problems…
Overlapping constitutional roles and responsibilities
Unwieldy institutional structures and concentrated decision making
Politicisation of public service appointments Low levels of performance and capacity Lack of transparency and adherence to due
process Policies and decisions based on intuition
rather than data and analysis
Who is responsible for education? Federal system: constitutional roles -
Federal government – tertiary education, policy, standards and quality assurance
States – secondary Local Government – primary
But it is not as simple as that: Basic education is the responsibility of the
Universal Basic Education Commission and the SUBEBs
Most of local government budgets spent by SUBEBs
Funding Structure of UBE
UBEC
State Governments
Federation Account
State Ministry of Education
Primary & UBE JSS Salaries
Local Government Allocations
SUBEB
LGEA
Primary & UBE JSS Salaries
Recurrent Expenditure
SUBEB
Capital Expenditure
Schools: ECCE 5%, Primary 60%,
JSS 35%
Contracts awarded by
SUBEB
LG Councils
Communities
Contracts awarded by LGC –
renovation and construction of
classrooms
Transport to exams; JS1 materials for
girls; etc Other recurrent
expenditure*
* Such as maintenance of vehicles, sponsoring of teacher training courses, exercise books, etc
State Joint Allocation Committee
Remaining LG Allocations
SUBEB salaries; overheads for SUBEB; LGEAs and schools
overheads for LGEAs* and schools
Schools
overheads for schools
*includes HT allowances, etcTeaching and
non-teaching staff
Salaries and allowances
Federal Consolidated
Revenue Fund
Intervention Fund – paid on quarterly / annual
basis once 70% completion has been reported – the most
advanced states are now on 2007 allocation
2%
Counterpart funding which matches monthly
UBEC contribution
Annual budget
Federal Government
10% of State Revenue
Support to SUBEB for renovation of
classrooms (Jigawa)
SUBEB office capital expenditure UBE FTS salaries
UBE FTS salaries
UBE FTS salaries
What sustains this system?
System suits small elite in whom power is concentrated
Network of vested interests due to patronage Weak accountability
Supine legislators Sensationalist press
“Big man” complacency Buoyant economy Opt-out from public education
Private education Islamic education
Is change possible?
Political will exists amongst some political leaders
Growing public disquiet over performance of the education system Private sector influence on politicians Influence of traditional leaders Influence of the Diaspora
Downturn in the economy may expose weaknesses and prompt desire for change
What role is there for development partners Combined aid budgets less than 2% of GDP -
influence therefore limited Isolated donor projects on e.g. teacher training
or textbook provision unlikely to have much impact
Need to leverage domestic resources Need for a system-wide approach that also
takes in other sectors e.g. governance and public administration, health, voice and accountability
But this is a high risk strategy.
Establishing a framework for improving basic education Federal government: to promote an
enabling environment for reform States: strategic planning, budgeting,
financial management and HR/performance management
Schools: transformation to demonstrate that improvement is possible
Community: voice and demand for improvement
In conclusion…fragile or not? Optimists look to:
Relative political stability and functioning political and legal systems
Vibrant private sector Continued petroleum revenues
Pessimists look to: Fragile political, ethnic and geographical
consensus Collapsing public services Economic slowdown and increasing social
problems Mounting lawlessness
Take your pick.