Despite the clamour for an improvement in the budgetary allocation for a pivotal sector like education, industry experts have described the N369.6 billion, which represents 6.1 percent of the propose 2016 budget, as counter-productive for the economy.
Education stakeholders observe that this percentage decrease in the education budget to say the least is discouraging, considering the many challenges the sector is grappling with.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in the 2016 federal budget before the National Assembly proposed N369.6 billion for education from a budget of N6.08 trillion, a decrease from the N492.034 billion in 2015.
They maintain that with this decrease in 2016 budget, the prospect of the education sector will suffer further setback, adding that with the reduction in funds available, it will be very challenging to achieve better quality building, train staff better and improve the various levels of the sector.
While assessing the budget allocation, the stakeholders who spoke with BusinessDay, expressed shock that against the backdrop of the call for manpower improvement in the nation to allow for growth, the Federal Government and education operators at various levels have a mountain to climb in their hope to transformed the sector and bring quality, not just quantity.
Chinedu Duru, a Lagos-based education consultant, says the percentage decrease is a clear indication that there is really no encouraging signs that the present administration wants rapid growth for a sector that has over the years been somewhat neglected.
“The proposed budget for education, which witnessed a drop from that of 2015, will further put strain on resources the education sector will operate within 2016,” he says.
Duru opines that with this development, there is the need to outsource some of the activities in the educational institutions under a Public Private Partnership initiative rather than putting everything in the hands of bureaucrats who have no interest in education.
“I think that there is the need for these agencies and government to coordinate their policies and ensure that at the end of the day there is a chain of coordination and impact,” he says.
Isaac Adeyemi, vice chancellor, Bell University of Science and Technology, Ota, Ogun State, says this budget goes to show that the nation is not ready to make the desired impact in the education sector.
“We are not yet there. The conditions in our primary and secondary schools, polytechnics, colleges of education are appalling,” he says.
While education sector is complaining about underfunding, neglect and unnecessary interference by government, this budget gives no hope for a revival, according to him.
He further opines that the decrease, which may have been necessitated by the present slump in the oil price, puts the growth of the education sector in doubt, adding that only properly implemented budget will boost the sector.
“Government across level should put money in secondary, put money in the basic education so that by the time they come into the university system, they are good quality material that they universities will be able to show for it,” he said.
