By Odunayo Ogunseye
Contrary to President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise at the Global Education summit, London, to at least increase the allocation of budget to education by 50% in the next few years and by 100% in 2025, the sector in the 2022 Budget estimate was allocated N1.29 trillion which is 7.9% of the N16.39 trillion estimates, reports VANGUARD NEWS.
According to Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the money includes N108.1 billion for the Universal Basic Education, N1.2 trillion for rehabilitation of classrooms and hostels, N392 million as take off grants for six federal science and technical colleges, N4.5 billion as scholarship allowances and N2 billion as payment to 5000 Federal Teachers Scheme Allowance.
It should be noted that out of the 5 billion dollars targeted for the transformative changes in the education sector of low-income countries which includes Nigeria, 4billion dollars was generated at the Global Education Summit, cohosted by Mr Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister and President Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya.
The National President of Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, stated that union leadership would meet with the government team in order to discuss the issue of the budget.
According to him, “Our struggles for the improvement of the education sector has always included better funding of the sector. Without adequate funding of the sector much may not be achieved. Our plea is that Nigerians should not leave the struggle for a better funding of the education sector for ASUU alone. It is something that concerns all of us and we must see that the needful is done,”
