Education for Sustainable Livelihoods: Strengthening Governance, Politics, and Policies

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The paper presentation by Dr. Joe Abah at the Annual Education Conference 2019 delves into the crucial aspects of governance, politics, and policies in the education sector, focusing on addressing key constraints and offering recommendations for reform initiatives. With a backdrop of alarming statistics on education challenges in Nigeria, the presentation highlights the importance of governance in achieving sustainable development and eradicating poverty.

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GOVERNANCE, POLITICS AND POLICIES Annual Education Conference 2019: Education for Sustainable Livelihoods: A Systems Approach to Strengthening the Sector for Productivity and Global PAPER PRESENTATION BY DR. JOE ABAH COUNTRY DIRECTOR, DAI Competitiveness

PRESENTATION OBJECTIVES To foster a shared understanding of the key terms: Governance, Politics, Policies, Budgets. To examine the relationship between governance and delivery of services in sectors such as Education To enumerate binding constraints in the Education sector To discuss recommendations for Education reform initiatives

CONTEXT 86% Half of Nigerian children between the ages of 6 and 16 cannot read of children in the lowest economic quintile cannot read or do single-digit addition 10.5 million children are out of school Our budgets fail to meet the 26% UNESCO recommendation In many states the average ratio of pupils to qualified teachers is more than 100 to 1 Over 45% of Nigeria s population is aged 15 or below

Politics Politics is the activities through which one group gains power and control over other groups, a simple case of inclusion and exclusion. Too often, we obsess about which group has power and control over the rest of us. We keep changing the groups every 4 to 8 years but not much actually changes on the ground.

Governance Governance, on the other hand, is HOW that power and control is exercised for the benefit of all of us. This one, we often don t care about. When we care at all, the focus is almost always on the Federal Government. At State level, the question is often only: Is he paying salaries and building roads? Local Government doesn t even feature. The mantra is often that we don t need government. We just need to get government out of the way, so we can do our business and make money.

Why Governance Matters Underlying the litany of Africa s development problems is a crisis of governance. Weak governance cannot readily support a dynamic economy (World Bank). The issue of good governance and capacity building is what we believe lies at the core of all of Africa s problems." (Commission For Africa, 2005) Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development. (former UN SG, Kofi Annan) Development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. (President Obama, July 2009) Of all the ills that kill the poor, none is as lethal as bad government. (The Economist)

Policies Policies set out what a government intends to achieve and how it intends to act. In Nigeria, they often derive from Political Statements. Developing responsive policies and strategies supports the right of every child in Nigeria to quality education. Strategies describe the steps a government will use to implement a policy that is already in place. Getting both right, therefore, is a key step in improving the governance of a country. Policies should have clear goals & targets Policies should accurately reflect the aspirations of citizens They should be based on data, research and testing

Budgets The budget is the skeleton of the state stripped of all misleading ideologies Joseph Schumpeter

Human Resources An efficient, engaged and resourceful public service helps governments deliver better services to citizens. This requires well understood mandates, properly defined responsibilities of Education ministries, departments and agencies, and proper remuneration and equipping with appropriate skills.

Data, Monitoring & Evaluation You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts. - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Binding Constraints facing in Education in Nigeria: Symptoms Lack of Teachers Teacher Absenteeism Low Teacher Quality Lack of Access to Schools Lack of Gender Equity Inadequate Infrastructure Inadequate Materials

Binding Constraints facing in Education in Nigeria: Root Causes Insufficient budget allocation and release for policy implementation Untimely release of funds for Policy Implementation. Low interest in Policy implementation Misappropriation of funds Indifferent attitude of education operators and community members Policy inconsistency: personalization of public office Unwieldy split in roles: federal & state Lack of clarity in roles and responsibility Inadequate regulation and oversight for Public & Private Schools Weak community participation: SBMC, PTA Proliferation of Education infrastructure projects Ineffective monitoring and evaluation to ensure accountability Inability to attract, retain & reward competent staff Constitutional issues Non-implementation of recommendations & White Papers

MY THEORY OF CHANGE IF teachers are recruited and trained effectively; learning materials are accessible; school environments meet basic standards; and girls and boys have adequate learning environments IF governments make evidence-based policies, plans and budgets that respond to the needs of pupils, teachers, schools; and plans and budgets are implemented effectively and transparently IF data and evidence is available and feeds into policy making; monitoring and performance mechanisms are effectively embedded in state and non- state institutions THEN more children will have access to school, will learn better, and develop into productive adults who can improve their economic opportunities, with long lasting effects on their well-being and livelihoods.

Some progress towards achieving the vision Headlines of recent development in Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Borno and Yobe States. 14

KEY OUTCOMES KANO STATE Training/Capacity building on Resource Management completed for 120 Principals from selected Secondary Schools across the state (by the SERVICOM-Citizens Partnership in collaboration with other professional groups). The Sum of N1.4m and a block of three classrooms (Constituency Project) generated at Gama Community fundraiser to improve learning outcomes for 18, 765 students. Construction of 8 blocks of Classrooms by makers of Maltina. Cartons of chalk produced by SERVICOM Citizens Partnership on education distributed to 100 post- primaries. N13m from constituency projects for the construction of one block of three classrooms for 180 pupils at Government Girls Junior Secondary School Garun Mallam. Recruitment of 1,539 female teachers. Teacher Quality FOCUS AREAS Teaching Classroom Congestion Materials/Resources 15

KADUNA STATE KEY OUTCOMES Trained over 8,000 Teachers in collaboration with TDP. Trained 4,225 Head Teacher on all 6 Leadership aspects. TEACHER QUALITY Citizens platform now tracking the budget and expenditure of basic education in the state. The State now has a comprehensive Corporate Plan for the Education Sector that clarifies the mandate, defines functions for all departments and units, with clear establishment and workforce plans and standardized service to be offered to citizens. INTERVENTION INTERVENTION Supported a series of Teachers Training in Partnership with TDP to improve learning outcomes; and Policy development (Teacher development & Recruitment Policy) 16

BORNO STATE KEY OUTCOMES Student Teacher Ratio Sector planning Training undertaking planning jointly with Adamawa State. AREA OF FOCUS The partnership generated an Education needs assessment in selected communities using the Intervention Tracking Tool to support advocacy to relevant MDAs for inputs into the 2019 budget. Collaboration with other Stakeholders working in Education (NENTAD Partners) INTERVENTION Scooping study of the State Ministry of Education and SUBEB conducted to identify key governance challenges to improvement in Service delivery. 17

KEY OUTCOMES JIGAWA STATE Recruitment of approximately 1000 Teachers in 2017, additional 1,105 by 2018 including 5 disabled. POOR TEACHER QUALITY Renovation, procurement & distribution of 224 Motorcycles for Schools Monitoring & Supervision. Construction of additional 44 SSS, 12- JSS & 97 Primary Schools with priority given to Rural Communities & Girls. INTERVENTION Development of draft Teacher Recruitment & Deployment Policy. Development of an Action Plan & facilitated implementation of actions to address identified blockages by relevant MDAs, SHoA, Media & the CS. Provision of PWDs in selected schools & improved collaboration with TDP & GPE. 18

YOBE STATE KEY OUTCOMES PERL in collaboration with other development partners facilitated institutionalization of medium-term plans. AREA OF FOCUS Rehabilitated destroyed education facilities in Gujiba, Gulani, Kukareta, Geidam, etc. Stepped up advocacy, including media programmes to magnify poor access to education facilities based on tracking across LGAs. Collaboration with other Stakeholders working in Education (NENTAD Partners) Poor School Infrastructure & Facilities. Rehabilitated and supplied basic amenities to Murfa-Kalam Boarding Primary School in Damaturu LGA. INTERVENTION Support discourse among Stakeholders to advocate & kickstart the Education in Emergencies (EIE) Coordination cluster meeting. Provided school facilities in IPDs Camps based on advocacy. 19

LESSON LEARNT For Quality Education to be attained and maintained, there must be Sustainable Continuity in Teacher Quality, Training and Development. The hiring and promotion of these must not be compromised, as this will affect the goal of Quality Education in Nigeria. 20

Recommendations 1. At all levels, education sector reform priorities must supersede partisan loyalties or preferences. Stronger sanctions for mismanagement of educational resources Assist to set up an implementation framework with monitoring mechanisms to ensure accountability. Strengthening & implementing Policies, Action Plans & Budgets for good Service delivery The government should create enabling environment for diverse and strong partnerships 2. 3. 4. 5.