Kaduna State Govt spends N158.1bn on education in 5 years

The Kaduna State Government has spent a total of N158.1 billion out of the N225.1 billion budgeted for the education sector between 2017 and 2021, the sector budget trend analysis has shown.

The analysis, indicating a 70.2 percent performance, was conducted by the Kaduna Basic Education Accountability Mechanism (KADBEAM) in Kaduna on Thursday, to determine the level of investment in the sector.

The event was supported by Partnership to Engage, Reform, and Learn (PERL), a governance program of the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).

The analysis showed that N64.8 billion was allocated to the education sector in 2017 of which N14.6 billion was spent, representing 22.4 percent.

It also showed that N51.7 billion was budgeted in 2018, with actual spending standing at N23.5 billion, representing 45.5 percent; N42.4 billion was budgeted in 2019 with the eventual expenditure of N32.7 billion representing 77.2 percent.

In 2020, a total of N66.1 billion was allocated to the sector of which N32 billion was spent, representing 48.5 percent while in 2021 the sector got N62.1 billion of which N55.2 billion was spent, representing 88.9 percent.

Mr. Martins Dangwa, Chairman, Evidence Technical Working Group, KADBEAM, said that despite the 70 percent budget performance in the last five years, the sector was still faced with infrastructural decay.

Dangwa identified other challenges as noted by the state education policy including limited qualified teachers in core science subjects, and inefficiency in the education data management system.

PERL’s State Partnership Facilitator, Mr. Istifanus Akau explained that the trend analysis was conducted to assess the state government’s commitment to providing quality education services.

“The objective is to understand the budget trend of public sector investment in the education sector, look at the provisions the sector was able to access, and implement education programs.

“This will enable us to identify priority areas of investment in the sector and gain insight into the alignment of policy and fiscal performance in the last five years,” he said.

The Citizens’ Co-Chair, KADBEAM Mr. Tijjani Aliyu, commended the level of partnership and collaboration among critical education stakeholders in the state working to improve the quality of education service delivery.

Aliyu said that the budget trend analysis would reveal interventions that were starved of funds for the organized civil society to advocate for improved funding and timely release of allocated funds.

State Lead Facilitator, PERL, Mr. Adejor Abel, said that the government program would continue to support conversations between the government and citizens on service delivery.

Abel commended the state government for providing a space for citizens to make inputs into the State Education Policy, Quality Assurance Policy, and other strategic documents to improve the quality of education services.

Also, Mubarak Siraj, State Reform Facilitator, Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) program, a seven-year FCDO education program lauded stakeholders’ support of the education sector.

Siraj said that was supporting the state government and the private sector to ensure effective and inclusive education by getting the foundation for improved learning outcomes.

Mr. Joshua James, Secretary, of Civil Society Steering Committee, Open Government Partnership said it was very important for citizens to keep in tap with the government to ensure that resources were expended in areas of need.

James said that the trend analysis would determine if the government was making the right investment in the education sector or not.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that other issues identified include poor investment in Information and Communication technology, reduced budgetary allocation for overhead costs, and poor teacher recruitment and deployment processes.