Poor budget implementation affects Ogun’s education sector

Ogun State’s commitment to improving the quality of learning and teaching is said to be getting appreciable financial clout as in fiscal year 2019, out of the state’s total budget proposal of N402.63 billion, 22 per cent, or N88.579 billion, is earmarked for the education sector. This means that while several other states face tough […]

Ogun State’s commitment to improving the quality of learning and teaching is said to be getting appreciable financial clout as in fiscal year 2019, out of the state’s total budget proposal of N402.63 billion, 22 per cent, or N88.579 billion, is earmarked for the education sector.

This means that while several other states face tough financial challenges, expectations for Ogun school system in recent times are positive.

The move, according to Governor Ibikunle Amosun, is part of the strive towards attaining the 26% UNESCO benchmark for funding education out of a state’s total budget.

Amosun, while presenting the budget proposal tagged ‘Budget of Enduring Legacy’, said since he was elected as governor in 2011, delivering affordable, qualitative education has been the main concern of his five-cardinal point programme, with  an allocation of at least 20% of the budget to education annually.

The governor pledged to provide quality school facilities with a view to delivering positive outcomes for both students and teachers.

“In 2019, we will invest heavily in school infrastructure, upgrading primary and secondary schools across the state with the support of SUBEB. We will continue to invest in our model secondary schools and we expect to open additional locations during the year in response to growing demand,” the governor said.

Additionally, Amosun said the performance of his administration in the last seven years regarding the education sector was agreeable.

He listed the achievements to include the “conversion of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) to Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology (MAUSTECH) with Ogun State Polytechnic taking off at Ipokia, payment of teachers’ salaries, which constitutes 89% of recurrent expenditure in education in the 2018 budget, renovation of schools and Model College initiatives,” among others.

However, while a number of stakeholders in the sector told Daily Trust that the outgoing governor deserves a pat on the back for appreciable allocation to the education sector over the years, they still faulted him for slow and poor implementation of budgets.

Others questioned the justification for increased budgetary allocation even though the deplorable state of infrastructure in schools has persisted.

Our correspondent observed that at least two governorship candidates have expressed their plans to convert the multimillion naira Model Colleges established by Amosun’s government into vocational centres if they are elected.

And on payment of salaries, many lecturers in the state’s higher institutions have complained of not receiving salaries on time which indicated poor budget execution.

Members of staff of Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE), Omu-Ijebu, for instance, have a sad story to tell. In a Save Our Soul (SOS) addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari last week, the grieving workers put their unpaid salaries at N4 billion.

According to them, the humungous amount was from their Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure and Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure arrears that accumulated in July, 2009 and October 2018.

They said their “precarious situation has led to the death of 45 members from 2011 till date.”

In the SOS letter jointly signed by 17 members, they appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to compel Amosun’s government to use the last batch of the Paris Club refund to pay their outstanding salaries and arrears.

However, speaking with Daily Trust, an expert in education management, Dr Adeyanju Hammed, described the 22 per cent allocation to the education sector as “paperwork,” saying the governor would earn more kudos if the budget allocations were well implemented.

Hammed who lectures at Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), said “Budget is just a proposal. The implementation is what people are after. Teachers, students and infrastructure must be taken care of.

“You remember the famous saying that if you want to destroy a nation, you don’t need atomic bomb; just lower the quality of education.

“I believe 22 percent budget allocation to education is a step in the right direction, but what about the implementation? Tertiary institutions are not getting subvention in the state. Lecturers and teachers have their payments deducted. Teachers are working without bonus.

“I believe it’s just paperwork. And enough of paperwork. There should be appreciable implementation.”

Another Senior lecturer from the institution, Dr Tolani Hassan, described the 22 per cent allocation to education in the budget as a welcome development, but also questioned the level of its implementation in the past.

“Some students still sit on the bare floor in classrooms. Students learn under harsh conditions. The facilities are not there.

“Ogun State boasts of the highest number of institutions in the country. But for me, it’s not about quantity but quality,” Hassan said.

On his part, the Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) chapter, Kola Abiola, said “the education sector got the largest share in the budget I was told. But what has been the level of implementation in the last three years? For 2019, let us hope there will be adequate implementation. If I am to rate the governor based on performance in my institution, I will give score him zero.”