NIGERIA’S quest to boost its educational efforts got a major boost yesterday when it obtained a grant of $500 million to serve as additional resources to support universal basic education.

The former British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, gave this hint at the meeting of Coalition Interventions to Support Access and Quality of Education in Nigeria hosted by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria has made available $250 million for investment in education by the states. What we have managed to do by talking to the individual agencies over the last few days is to match that $250 million by the additional $250 million making possible new investment of $500 million in education in Nigeria,” Brown explained.

A breakdown of the fund as explained by Brown indicated that Global Partnership for Education and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have agreed to contribute $100 million each for the development of universal education.

Brown said that the Federal Government, in collaboration with state governments, has already provided $250 million for the development of education in the country, noting that additional cash transfers is for training, introduction of new technologies can now match the initiatives that have been taken by Dr. Aliko Dangote from the business community and other initiatives among five agencies.

He also pointed out that Nigeria stood to benefit from a seven-year term European Union (EU) grant that would be devoted to the development of education, saying: “I have talked to the head of the development commission for the EU and he said he will tell the government of Nigeria to submit an application from time to time for the next seven years term will be devoted to education development in Nigeria. So, it’s up to the government to make the application.”

Mr. Brown told the President that he had had a very productive meeting with Vice President Namadi Sambo, the Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy/Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, governors and state commissioners for education on international support for efforts to create greater access to educational opportunities for Nigerian youths.

Representing the President, Vice President Namadi Sambo said that the Federal Government has identified access and quality “as the two strategic goals of Nigerian education,” emphasising that the government’s 4-Year Strategic Plan for the Education Sector: 2011-2015, “further enumerates the approaches to addressing the challenges in the sector.

“Within these frame-works, we have implemented a number of specific initiatives to improve access and reduce the number of out-of-school children since the inception of this Administration. The Almajiri Education Programme was launched to increase access for the Almajiris or the less-privileged children and integrate the scheme into our Basic Education system. Today, 80 modern boarding and day schools have been completed and 45 others are in various stages of completion,” he said.
http://ngrguardiannews.com/national-news/132379-govt-gets-n77-6-billion-to-boost-education-

Universal Basic education o shi woo.
We are talking about enforcing your agreement with ASUU and equipping Universities with adequate and modern equipment and good up to date lecturers, not teaching students Fortran 1995

Jonathan u must be high on some cheap weed cos me want to resume before end of september o

Think so. Second to comment. 亏了，好可回不去洗洗