Recently , the meeting for effective and timely implementation of 2023-2024 School Based Management Committee-School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) in Enugu State was organised at Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB) in collaboration with Universal Basic Education Commission, for stakeholders to sensitize all the Education Secretaries and Social Mobilization officers in the State.
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The one day sensitization meeting was also designed to brief the stakeholders on the concept and specific activities under the programme implementation arrangement such as eligibility, selection and verification process of potential benefitting schools and also create awareness on the need for equity in the beneficiary’s selection process amongst others.
Addressing the participants at the meeting, the Permanent Member 3 in the Board, Hon Ego Aja stressed the need to encourage relevant stakeholders and benefitting communities to be more involved to /support school improvement programme/project in their areas.
Hon Aja, noted that this is very necessary to enable them provide such communities tangible opportunities to collaborate with government agencies in initiating, funding and execution of access, equity and quality-driven school development project.
She therefore urged the participants and Head Teachers in government schools in the state to endeavour to be at peace with their host communities, maintain good working relationship with all the committed stakeholders, seek their support and cooperation for better result in their school improvement programmes.
Hon Aja used the occasion to call on them to pay attention and take the meeting serious, inorder to understand what they are expected to do, the baseline and how best to do it in order to make all the needed positive impact in their schools.
In his address, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Officer in charge of the Department of Social Mobilization Abuja, Dr. Mohammed Shuwaibu said that the objective of the meeting is to ensure that grass root stakeholders are adequately mobilized for effective participation towards achieving an equitable selection of prospective beneficiary schools/communities and successful implementation of the programme.
Permanent Member 3 ENSUBEB
Dr. Shuwaibu announced that under the 2023-2024 (SBMC-SIP) programme, ENSUBEB is expected to select 36 proposed beneficiary schools and forward to UBEC Abuja for the final selection under three components of 23 micro schools, 10 macro schools and 3 special cases schools.
He said that UBEC had approved/allocated One Million Naira (N1,000,000.00) each for twenty (20) micro schools, Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N2,500,000.00) each for eight (8) macro schools and Five Million Naira (N5,000,000.00) each for two (2) special cases in schools and suggest involvement of professionals in the execution of the project and avoid anything that will disrupt the work.
According to Dr Shuwaibu the potential beneficiary school must be an existing government basic education school with a functional SBMC and be a school that did not benefit from the 2019 and 2021/22 SMBC-SIP support fund as well as ability of the benefiting community to pay ten percent (10%) counterpart fund for the project.
Also, in her contribution the Director Social Mobilization Department in ENSUBEB, Mrs Ego Eze welcomed the participants and appealed to them to do the needful to ensure that the state benefited fully from the programme.
Mrs Eze urged them to be fair, and thorough in their selection of school that will benefit from the programme, maintain accountability and transparency to ensure timely completion of the projects as funding, timing is paramount.
The Desk Officer in the Department Mrs Ogochukwu Owo-Onu outlined the objectives of the meeting to include, promotion of functionality of SMBC in school development, increase involvement and participation of SMBC and other community members in school governance andalso to promote advocacy, sensitization and mobilization of the school community in support of Basic Education.
Others are the need to increase school enrolment, retention and completion rates, increase and improve school infrastructure and learning environment and promote private partnership and sustainability of school development initiatives.
Mrs Owo-Onu explained that in the micro schools under the SMBC-SIP programme doors and windows will be purchased/fixed, existing ones repaired, wall of classes plastered and recreational/sitting materials procured while in the macro schools, renovation work, construction of class rooms library block, fencing completion and toilet facilities provided.
Also, in the special cases schools re-roofing of class rooms, major renovations equipment and other materials will be provided.
In his speech, , the Chairman of SMBC in the state Dr. Agujiobi spoke on the need to carry everybody along both the Communities, Head teachers and other stakeholders in the execution of the project.
In a vote of thanks, the Dean of Education Secretaries in the state, Mr Slyvanus Egbo thanked the organizers of the meeting and promised that with what they learnt, they will do their best to ensure that Enugu State benefited fully from the programme.