Nigerian Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zanaib Shamsuna Ahmed has said that the National Plan will be implemented between 2023-2026, with a total investment size of N144.8 billion with a propose plan of N32.58 billion in 2023, N36.98 billion in 2024, N37.15 billion in 2025, and N38.03 billion in 2026, respectively.
Ahmad who disclosed this at the launching of National Plan for financing safe schools in Abuja on Friday, stated that the Federal Government has made a provision of N15 billion in the 2023 Budget, leaving a funding gap of N13.6 billion in 2023, expected to be filled by State Governments, Agencies, the private sector, and development partners interested in supporting Nigeria.
She recalled that Federal Government made a commitment at the High Level Meeting on Financing Safe Schools in partnership with EEG, held in April 2021 and also at the Fourth International Conference on the Safe Schools Declaration held in October, 2021 the Ministry’s pledge to facilitate adequate funding in protecting education from attacks which led to the development of the National Plan.
Ahmed explained further that the Plan which is a four-year investment plan was developed through rigorous consultative strategic engagements with all relevant critical stakeholders in the Education and Security sectors at national and sub-national levels.
“Such as Federal Ministry of Education; Nigeria Police Force; Nigerian Security Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC); Department of State Security (DSS); Defense Headquarters (Army, Navy and Air Force) while also inputs from the 36 States and Federal Capital Territory Ministries of Education, Finance and Budget, development partners; donor agencies and civil society organizations.
The Minister noted that the Development Plan focuses on achieving inclusive growth through the implementation of the long-term economic transformation blueprint aimed at mitigating our current developmental challenges and attaining the upper middle-income country status.
“With an average real GDP growth rate of 7%, a GDP of about US$12 trillion by 2050, and an end period per capita income of US$33,000 per annum”, adding that targets can only be actualized if critical stakeholders collaboratively create safer teaching and learning environments across Nigeria via critical intervention investments as captured in the validated costed plans of action.
Ahmed charged all critical stakeholders, especially implementing Agencies to ensure that as part of their valuable contributions to the economic growth of the country, they prioritize funding these identified costed plans of action aimed at ensuring to safeguard the teaching and learning environments.
“In the same vein, we appeal to our development partners, and seize this opportunity to applaud the World Bank Group for launching the Human Capital Project (HCP) that shares similar core objectives and expected outcomes as our National Plan.
The Minister who is confident that the effective implementation of the National Plan would address the challenges faced in the Education sector in terms of violent attacks. Therefore, encouraged all relevant stakeholders, national and subnational to speedily facilitate implementation at various levels.
Ahmed mentioned that the data-driven National Plan on Financing Safe Schools amongst others intends to achieve measurable outcomes such as a reduction in the number of out-of-school children and improve Nigeria’s rating in Human Capital Index in the long run.
She urged development partners and civil society organizations to hold the Govt accountable via periodic evaluation of its performance, which will complement the Government’s tracking through the implementation of a robust Financing Safe Schools Secretariat Monitoring and Evaluation mechanism.
The Inspector General of Police, IGP Alkali Baba Usman in his Goodwill messages, said that the Chibok Girls saga became the eye opener to insecurity of schools as the menace soon spread to other schools while calling for collaboration and synergy among all stakeholders as the task of safe guarding schools cannot be left to school management and parents.
“We need to keep schools safe to produce future leaders. Both the structure, standard, discipline, curriculum, teachers, extra curricular activities etc must be protected”, IGP Alkali Baba said.
Also, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, ably represented by Rear Admiral Chibuike Azike stated that the National Plan will develop a collaborative programme to protect all parts of the society; from local to federal government. “We’ll keep synergising with military and paramilitary forces and civilians to keep schools safe”, he said.