According to the Niger State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), more than 90% of pupils in public school exit classes are unable to read or write.

On Thursday, Dr. Isah Adamu, Chairman of NSUBEB, revealed this during a two-day roundtable discussion in Minna on revamping basic education in Niger State.

He explained that the roundtable discussion brought together key stakeholders in the education sector to examine the state’s basic education concerns and performance.

The event became necessary, according to Adamu, after the board mobilized resources to register 250 public elementary school exit kids for Suleja Academy, but noted that records revealed zero percent performance.

He went on to say that out of 250 students that registered for the national exam into Unity Colleges, 21 passed.
He went on to say that there was no standardized uniform examination for primary six exit students in the state at the time.

He added that schools supplied names of their students for placement into Junior Secondary School (JSS 1) courses for the standard unified examination.

According to Adamu, the board collaborated with the Ministry of Education to create a Unified Common Entrance Examination of National Standard by enlisting the National Examination Council (NECO) to write the questions for the students.

He claimed that out of 61,874 students who took the exam, 55,363 passed, reflecting an 89.5 percent pass rate, and that the conference was held to gain assistance from stakeholders on how to resolve basic education concerns.

Niger Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello asked participants to find a realistic solution to issues on the way to a long-term education system at the primary level.
Bello, who was accompanied by the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Ketso, bemoaned the state of basic education in the state.

He stressed the importance of guiding the students toward a system that emphasizes practice over theory.

He stated that his administration was committed to providing high-quality education in the state by clearing the backlog of Universal Basic Education (UBE) matching grants from 2013 to the first quarter of 2019 to improve learning access.
Hajiya Hannatu Salihu, the Commissioner of Education, had earlier encouraged attendees to come up with a variety of ideas and viewpoints on how to improve the state’s educational standards in her welcome address.

Source: The Vanguard.