As part of efforts to improve access to quality education in Nigeria, The Every Nigerian Child Project (ENCP) in partnership with The Education Partnership Centre (TEP Centre) hosted the inaugural edition of the Nigerian Education Summit. The summit held on Monday March 16, 2015 at the Protea Hotel, Ikoyi Westwood in Lagos, Nigeria.
The Summit, themed Improving Education Quality: The Role of Accountability, brought together cross-sectoral stakeholders in the education sector to discuss and deliberate on how to improve the quality of the education system in Nigeria through strengthened accountability at all levels. It also stimulated constructive discourse on how public and private sector organisations can individually and collaboratively work to improve planning, monitoring and evaluation in the education sector, and how the country can stimulate the production of high-quality data in the education sector.
Stakeholders represented at the summit included the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Bureau of Statistics, Civil Society Action Coalition for Education for All (CSACEFA), the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), UK Department for International Developmnet (DfID), MacArthur Foundation, Incubator Africa, Paradigm Initiatiative Nigeria, Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), Microsoft, Save the Children and Enough-is-Enough (EiE).
At the summit, a new Citizen-led Survey of Learning called LEARNigeria, was launched. This household survey is designed to generate data on the foundational literacy and numeracy skills that Nigerian children possess. The data generated will not only strengthen education policymaking but also equip a wide array of education sector stakeholders with information and techniques for improving learning outcomes in Nigeria.
Clearly emphasized at the summit was the role of citizen engagement in ensuring accountability. Former Minister of Education and ex-Vice President of the World Bank, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili stated that, “The best way to tackle accountability in the education sector is not to generalize but to take individual ownership. Citizens need to be activated to the responsibility of improving education quality, to realize that it is a collective responsibility”. Citing the Freedom of Information Bill, the representative of Dr. Macjohn Nwaobiala, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education remarked that citizens need to demand more from their leaders in terms of accountability. Dr. Kole Shettima of MacArthur Foundation emphasized his hope that a time would come when education quality would determines the outcome of election. He stated, “If my child cannot read, you (politician) do not get my vote”.
The Keynote speaker for the day, Dr. Sara Ruto of the Centre for Learning Assessments International remarked that Nigeria has now joined a growing network of nine countries implementing similar citizen-led national asessments of learning. Referring to the model of the survey which is currently implemented in countries like India, Pakistan, Kenya, Senegal and Mexico, she said this model shows that every engaged citizen can be researcher.
Speaking on the rationale for the LEARNigeria survey, TEP Centre Managing Director, Dr. Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, noted that LEARNigeria would help Nigerians better understand what the country is getting back from public sector investment in educaction. Representing ENCP, Dr. Ifechukwu Nnatuanya and Mr. Gori-Olusina-Daniel added that improving learning outcomes begins with a clear understanding of where children are, with regards to foundational literacy and numeracy.
Closing the event, Mr. Foluso Phillips, Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and Chair of the Steering Committee for LEARNigeria, remarked that the Nigerian Education Summit is poised to become a key annual event in Nigeria’s calendar, bringing together all cadres of education sector stakeholders.
For more information on the Nigerian Education Summit and LEARNigeria survey, please contact:
Email: ides.aziegbe@tepcentre.com; info@tepcentre.com
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