By Rose Ndandok
The Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria has supported the Kaduna State Ministry of Education in a 2-Day workshop to review the Kaduna State 10-Year Education Strategic Plan (ESP) to evaluate the level of implementation of the plan, in an education sector analysis.
The meeting’s objectives were to help Kaduna state establish the current status of the education system at both basic and higher levels, strengthen government systems to develop evidence-driven policies and plans as well as to provide capacity enhancement to stakeholders; including community, private and public systems through a co-creation approach.
Necessitated due to changing contexts and emerging trends in the education sector, the need to assess progress and performance, importance of aligning with national and global goals, addressing emerging challenges, strengthening stakeholder engagement as well as several other factors, the review couldn’t have come at a better time.
In an opening remark at the meeting, the Director, Education Planning and Physical Development of the Kaduna State Ministry of Education, Salisu Lawal Baba, reiterated the Ministry’s readiness to collaborate with stakeholders in the sector to ensure access to quality education in the state. He said that it is important for stakeholders to know that everyone must work together to achieve better results in the sector, as education is key to development.
Baba further explained that the review meeting will serve as a starting point towards developing the next Education Strategic Plan for the state. He thanked PLANE for the continuous support given to the education sector especially its efforts at improving education indices at the basic level.
He further thanked other participants of the training for honouring the invitation to be part of the review meeting and wished participants a fruitful deliberation.
In his remark during the workshop, PLANE Consultant, Dr. Sulleiman Adediran, reiterated the importance of strategic planning especially in the education sector, stressing that lack of planning leads to failure. He further explained that in planning, data is key, because planning without it is futile. He praised Kaduna State Government for insisting on evidence to plan, commended the efforts of the Kaduna State Bureau of Statistics for providing the required data to work with as well as the unwavering support the state government continues to give to the Bureau to work efficiently and effectively.
Dr. Adeniran further said that he was looking forward to a very robust plan for the state because of the availability of data, as very few states in the country have the kind of data Kaduna has. In his words, “What the document reads is 2019–2029, thus showing we are midway. The meeting is to help us assess how far the plan has succeeded, and what better way than to assemble stakeholders in the sector to assess how far.” He added that the education sector analysis being done is the first step towards doing another strategic plan for the education sector in the Kaduna state.
Also, a Technical Working Group (TWG) has been drafted to drive the process, with the Ministry of Education spearheading its activities. The review is thus in one way, a capacity development program for Kaduna state education stakeholders, which has been made up of both government and non-government actors.
On his part, the Member representing Zaria City Constituency in the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Deputy Chief Whip and Chairman Committee on Education, Barr. Mahmud Lawal Ismail, who was also a participant at the workshop, said he was impressed with the sessions of the workshop, especially for its engaging approach.
He said most of the challenges being experienced in the education sector in Kaduna state have been brought to the fore, ranging from poverty, to insecurity, marginalization and several others, while solutions to such problems have also been proffered. He said he was optimistic that at the end of the program, the state government will invest towards the actualization of the goals and objectives of the workshop.
