The Executive Secretary, National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), Dr Iyela Ajayi, has appealed for inclusion of the NSSEC Gazette Act. 23 (two per cent consolidated revenue fund) in the 2024 budget.
This, he said, was to enhance access to the funds required for the repositioning of senior secondary education in the country.
The commission’s Head of Public Relations, Hajia Fatimah Bappare, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
Bappare said the executive secretary made the appeal during a working visit to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, Sen. Lawal Usman and the Chairman, Committee on Education (Basic and Services), Hon. Mark Useini, in their respective offices.
Ajayi, while highlighting some of the achievements of the commission, said it was working with the ministry of education toward producing the final draft of the National Policy on Senior Secondary Education.
He said this would help to invigorate the senior secondary education sub sector.
The executive secretary said further that the responsibility of setting minimum standard also rested on the shoulders of the commission, adding that it had commenced the critique of the minimum standard document by different stakeholders.
He said that the minimum standard would be accepted by all after scrutiny.
Ajayi stated further that the production of the NSSEC National Strategic Plan was at conclusion level.
This, he said, would be a roadmap for the commission to achieve its mandate of repositioning the senior secondary education in the country.
Ajayi appealed that for the commission to achieve its mandate of revitalising the senior secondary education to meet global standard, there was the need for proper funding of NSSEC, in line with budgetary allocation.
He added that proper funding would enable the commission to embark on some crucial assignments, such as carrying out detailed needs assessment in schools in various states and updating the database of the senior secondary schools and capacity development of teachers.
The executive secretary also noted that out of the total budgetary allocation of the commission of N856 million, only N426 million was domiciled with NSSEC to develop senior secondary education in the country.
He said that the remaining N426 million stood as intervention fund, which was domiciled in the commission as intervention funds for legislators’ use in their various constituencies.
Iyela described the funding as grossly inadequate and further pleaded for the prompt intervention of the legislators to enable the commission to achieve its mandate.
Responding, Useini commended the commission for starting on a good footing, assuring it of the House Committee’s commitment to making necessary positive legislative decisions that would enhance its mandate.
Useini further urged the management and staff members to take the right steps by putting necessary measures in place to ensure that the gaps created in the sub-sector as regards not having a supervisory agency along other sub-sectors, were smartly bridged.
He also challenged the commission to consider and develop a model that would address the menace of out-of-school children in the senior secondary education level.
Speaking also, Sen. Adamu assured the commission of the committee’s commitment to ensuring proper consideration of adequate funding of the commission.