Cablegate: Minister of Education Outlines Reform Agenda
VZCZCXYZ0013
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHUJA #2637 2791215
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061215Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7403
INFO RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS PRIORITY 5252
UNCLAS ABUJA 002637
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: NI SCUL
SUBJECT: MINISTER OF EDUCATION OUTLINES REFORM AGENDA
1. SUMMARY: On September 11, Ambassador John Campbell met
with Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, to discuss
sweeping reforms to the education sector. Though funding
remains its principal obstacle, Ezekwesili,s reform agenda
includes replacement of all department heads of the Ministry
of Education, &cleaning-up8 the Universal Basic Education
Commission (UBEC), and committing petroleum funds and other
resources to teacher training and recruitment, curriculum and
classroom modernization, and increased digging of boreholes
in the North. END SUMMARY.
2. BACKGROUND: Obiageli Ezekwesili earned the nickname
&Madame Due Process8 from her time spent reviewing
government contracts in the President,s Budget Monitoring
Intelligence Unit (BMIU). Known for her transparency,
honesty, personal and professional integrity, and reform
agenda aimed at bringing in line GON units under her charge
to an international standard of effectiveness, Ezekwesili
assumed duty as Minister of Education in June 2006 following
a stint as Minister of Solid Minerals, where she spearheaded
major reforms in policy development and implementation.
Ezekwesili promises to breathe new life into the slow,
inefficient Ministry of Education, formerly staffed with
&old timers8 uninterested or reluctant to initiate reforms.
3. Notably, Ezekwesili,s appointment as Minister is viewed
as President Obasanjo,s delivery on his commitment to
introduce true reforms in the education sector. END
BACKGROUND.
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EZEWESILI,S REFORM AGENDA
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4. Ezekwesili outlined an ambitious multi-tiered education
sector reform program, including the reshuffling and
replacement of Ministry of Education department heads with
young, highly educated, private sector-minded professionals.
While reform efforts focus on developing a more robust policy
architecture through &cleaning-up8 the Universal Basic
Education Commission (UBEC) ) a heavily-funded Ministry
parastatal in charge of implementing basic education in
Nigeria ) and halving the current set of 26 Ministry
parastatals, the principal setback to implementation remains
funding. In view of this, Ezekwesili proposed allocating
about 2% (N32 billion) of the nation,s petroleum income to
fund UBEC, with N15 billion of that going directly to State
governments. She stressed the obvious need to ensure
transparency in the disbursement of funds by obligating
States to furnish a disaggregated budget and expenditure
report. Local communities, Ezekwesili noted, must be
encouraged to participate actively in funding decisions and
given the opportunity to receive matching grants from UBEC
for initiatives that directly benefit schools.
5. With respect to curriculum and classroom modernization,
Ezekwesili opined that in order for Nigerians to meet the
demands of the 21st century, all levels of education need
upgrading. Since only 10% of secondary school graduates
presently go on to either higher education or employment in
Nigeria, schools must be equipped with requisite access to
information technology. Importantly, she announced a pivotal
program to revamp teacher pre-service and in-service training
to focus on improved content knowledge and cutting-edge
practices in class management and pedagogy. In order to
attract and retain qualified teachers to work in challenging
locations, Ezekwesili is exploring avenues to increase
compensation and incentives.
6. In an attempt to ensure the ability of girls to attend
primary school, particularly in areas where attitudinal
challenges to girl education persist, Ezekwesili proposed
increasing the number of female teachers and placing
boreholes within school compounds in the North. Locating
boreholes within school compounds makes available water for
use in the school (toilets, hydration, and hygiene) and for
use by the community. While the Ministry has funds for
construction, Ezekwesili solicited USG equipment assistance
in digging the boreholes. Ezekwesili explained that funds
from recent debt relief agreements will be used for the
acquisition of text books in the four core subjects of
Mathematics, English, Basic Technology, and the Integrated
Sciences for schools in the Girls Education Project states
(located in the 19 Northern states).
FUREY