NIGERIA’S quest to boost its educational
efforts got a major boost yesterday when it
obtained a grant of $500 million to serve as
additional resources to support universal
basic education.
The former British Prime Minister, Mr.
Gordon Brown, gave this hint at the
meeting of Coalition Interventions to
Support Access and Quality of Education in
Nigeria hosted by President Goodluck
Jonathan at the Banquet Hall of the State
House in Abuja.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has
made available $250 million for investment
in education by the states. What we have
managed to do by talking to the individual
agencies over the last few days is to match
that $250 million by the additional $250
million making possible new investment of
$500 million in education in Nigeria,” Brown
explained.
A breakdown of the fund as explained by
Brown indicated that Global Partnership for
Education and the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) have
agreed to contribute $100 million each for
the development of universal education.
Brown said that the Federal Government,
in collaboration with state governments,
has already provided $250 million for the
development of education in the country,
noting that additional cash transfers is for
training, introduction of new technologies
can now match the initiatives that have
been taken by Dr. Aliko Dangote from the
business community and other initiatives
among five agencies.
He also pointed out that Nigeria stood to
benefit from a seven-year term European
Union (EU) grant that would be devoted to
the development of education, saying: “I
have talked to the head of the development
commission for the EU and he said he will
tell the government of Nigeria to submit an
application from time to time for the next
seven years term will be devoted to
education development in Nigeria. So, it’s up
to the government to make the application.”
Mr. Brown told the President that he had
had a very productive meeting with Vice
President Namadi Sambo, the Co-ordinating
Minister of the Economy/Finance, Mrs. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Education,
Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga
Ashiru, the Minister of State for Education,
Mr. Nyesom Wike, governors and state
commissioners for education on
international support for efforts to create
greater access to educational opportunities
for Nigerian youths.
Representing the President, Vice President
Namadi Sambo said that the Federal
Government has identified access and
quality “as the two strategic goals of
Nigerian education,” emphasising that the
government’s 4-Year Strategic Plan for the
Education Sector: 2011-2015, “further
enumerates the approaches to addressing
the challenges in the sector.
“Within these frame-works, we have
implemented a number of specific
initiatives to improve access and reduce the
number of out-of-school children since the
inception of this Administration. The Almajiri
Education Programme was launched to
increase access for the Almajiris or the less-
privileged children and integrate the
scheme into our Basic Education system.
Today, 80 modern boarding and day
schools have been completed and 45 others
are in various stages of completion,” he
said. Source ;http://www.theguardianmobile.com/readNewsItem1.php?nid=17197:

I hope this will assist the Govt. In solving ASUU strike problem