SUBEBS in north-west zone meet to articulate their BESDA delivery plans

In pursuit of the attainment of the objectives of Pillar One of the Ministerial Strategic Plan (MSP) that seeks to address the Out-Of-School Children (OOSC) phenomenon in Nigeria, UBEC in partnership with the World Bank, is organizing a 2-day Clinic for State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) in the North West geo-political zone with a view to enhancing their capacity to produce efficient, clear and implementable delivery plans capable of achieving Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) development objectives.
BESDA is a World Bank supported initiative which targets States with the largest population of out of school children in the country. BESDA seeks to support designated Federal and State agencies in with the specific objective of increasing equitable access to education for out-of-school children, improving literacy in focus States, and strengthening accountability for results through system strengthening.
The BESDA Project for Results (PfR) is hinged on an evidence-based mechanism which rewards states that have proven indicators of having attracted out of school children back to school, ensuring that they are retained and can demonstrate significant levels of learning achievement.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2-day Clinic the Honorable Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, represented by Hajiya Buba Haruna, BESDA Focal Officer, FME highlighted efforts made by the present administration in addressing the out of school challenge which is very rampant in the target BESDA States. The Minister expressed delight over the renewed drive to empower states and other collaborating partners in providing indigenous interventions that can encourage all school aged children to access and utilize available basic education opportunities in the country.
In the same vein, BESDA National Programme Coordinator, Prof. Gidado Tahir, noted the various roles expected to be played by UBE implementation agencies like UBEC, NMEC and NCNE as well as support agencies like NTI, NERDC and NCCE. He urged these agencies to deploy their technical knowhow in assisting States in perfecting their implementation plans especially in areas that relate to their core mandates.

The 2-day workshop is expected to come up with implementable BESDA delivery plans for each BESDA State in the North West. Participants at the workshop are drawn from Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States. Niger State is also part of the meeting while the FME, NTI, NERDC, NMEC, NCNE, the World Bank and project consultants are key technical partners at the 2-day event.

Chairman, Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board, Mallam Nasir Umar and the Kaduna State Honorable Commissioner of Education, Alhaji Jaffaru Sani Ibrahim were among the dignitaries that graced the opening ceremony of the BESDA Clinic.