Education in Nigeria is a difficult subject, COVID-19 made it worse, neigh unbearable. Luckily, civic and non-profits are taking initiative ahead of NABTEB exams.
- UNESCO estimated that over 290 million children have been out of school since the onset of COVID-19;
- In 2019, only 32% registered students passed the National Business and Technical exam;
- Experts predict a 28% pass rate given the pandemic;
- The Development Research and Project Centre is rolling out funds ranging from ₦300,000 to ₦1million in three phases to select schools nationwide to combat this need.
The aftermath of the novel virus saw declining salaries matched with spikes in everyday essentials. Budgets were restructured, leaving sector allocations untouched for some and reduced for others. The Education sector did not dodge this bullet as the government cut a sizable chunk of its allocation earlier this year.
Already Nigeria ranks fourth worst country to start a career for graduates. And, 74% of her workforce do not possess education past secondary school level. So naturally the uncertainty and delay brought about by the pandemic sent the country into a tailspin.
This is why initiatives by civic and non-profit organisations such as the Development Research and Project Centre (dRPC) are welcome. The dRPC is reportedly rolling out funds ranging from ₦300,000 to ₦1million in three phases to select schools nationwide. The initiative supported by the Open Society Foundation aims to assist schools ahead of the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB).
Impact of COVID-19 on Education
UNESCO estimated that over 290 million children have been out of school since the onset of COVID-19. Worse, though, is the fact that 46 million of these out of school children are in Nigeria, per the Nigeria Education in Emergencies Working Group, EiEWG’s approximation. A recent data from the National Business and Technical Education Board, NABTEB, estimated that 102,000 students have registered to write the examinations this year; an examination which commenced yesterday.
However, a majority of these students missed five months of classes because of lockdown restrictions. As a result, when the government set examination dates for NABTEB, students were ill-prepared. And given NABTEB results from 2019 which featured a dismal pass rate of 31%, this year’s impediments meant an even lower rate of 28%, according to experts. dPRC grants intend to address this challenge.
Civic Response
The Project Coordinator for the Youth Empowerment Resilience Response Project emphasised that: “The grants aim to support the after-school hours coaching; airtime for on-line coaching or for students to access recommended websites; purchase of past question papers and answers or textbooks; purchase of Covid-19 protection materials such as hand sanitizers; tables and chairs so that students can be separated.’’ Aisha Hashim also noted how the grants also target schools with large populations of students, particularly female students.
Also important are schools in disadvantaged communities or peri-urban or rural areas; with a functioning PTA or Schools Based Management Committee; schools with guidance and counselling programs. And, schools with plans to provide follow up support to mentor school leavers will all have an added advantage.
Importance of NABTEB
“This intervention by the dRPC in collaboration with the Open Society Foundation is a welcome development and an opportunity for you to justify the investment done to your education’’Reverend Bitrus- Interfaith Mediation Centre, Kaduna,
Recall the recent statistics from the labour force, especially concerning education. It showed how educational achievement held no bearing in job attainment. This was especially true for rural Nigeria. In fact, the Labour Force accounted for only 8.7% of Bachelor degree holders. These graduates in most instances end up adding to unemployed numbers.
Clearly, the way forward becomes entrepreneurship; that’s where technical and vocational education comes in. Thus, the government should focus more on technical schools (via funding and initiatives such as dRPC’s) as this route affords students work and business experience pre-graduation; that way, we end up with more SMEs and startups as opposed to jobseekers.
An analysis of the applicant shows that out of the over 102 schools that applied for the grants, 31 schools from Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Niger, Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Borno, Kwara, Yobe, Plateau, Bauchi, Ebonyi and Kebbi states were selected based on the criteria set up for beneficiaries of the grants.