The Global Partnership for Education System Transformation Grant has approved a grant of $107 million for Abia and five other States to develop the basic education sub-sector.
The global partners/donor agency also appointed UNICEF and World Bank as grant agents to supervise and ensure proper implementation of the grant.
Speaking at a two-day training workshop for the Abia State Ministry of Education, its departments and agencies including SUBEB and Agency for Mass Literacy, in Umuahia, the Education Specialist, UNICEF control office, Abuja, Saka Adebayo Ibraheem, said the grant was meant to support Abia and the other five States develop their theory of change in the education sector.
Ibraheem said that of the total funding of $107m approved for the country, Abia’s share would be no less than $12m. According to him, “They (Abia State ) will develop their own theory of change, they propose the outline of intervention, we are here to develop the triggers to guide them in the implementation.”
“We are doing State consultation for the development of global partnership for education system transformation grant, to develop the triggers that will guide the implementation,” he said, adding that Abia was one of the six selected States in the country for the grant.
He explained, however, that the grant would not be shared among the benefiting States equally, but would be based on the priority and strength of the proposed outline of intervention.
In his remarks, the Abia State
Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Hon Goodluck Chinedu Ubochi, said the grant would be deployed to critical areas of foundational education, particularly in transformational literacy and numeracy.
“We have a lot to benefit. This is the confirmation visitation they are making to the State. There was a proposal the State made to attract a grant from the global partners in education and in confirmation that Abia State has won that grant they sent this team to come and sensitize us and evaluate our state of readiness to utilize that fund for the purpose for which it has been granted, that’s the essence of the visit and the programme.”
The Commissioner who observed that the terms and conditions for the grant were friendly, declared, “We are very ready because we have already tendered our theory of change, what we intend to achieve in the education sector to which they will buy into and provide the grant to enable us to achieve it.
“We know that our state has not been doing well in foundational education, particularly in the area of literacy and numeracy and they are going to help us build capacity to accomplish this transformation,” he said.
In her contribution, one of the participants and HOD of Educational Services, Ministry of Education, Dr Esther Mboko, described the meeting as a wonderful experience for both participants and resource persons, which would prepare the Ministry for successful implementation.
According to her, the grant would help the State address critical areas of infrastructure, teachers’ salaries and allowances as well as the well-being of the children. Also, the grant, she further noted would go a long way in addressing the increasing cases of out-of-school children in the State.
“Abia State has been listed as one of the States with so many out-of-school children and from the outcome we are expecting that those children who are out of school will go back to school and Abia will be a very literate State. The essence of the fund is to make sure that no child is left out of education,” she said.
