Kaduna State Government has begun the implementation of its Education Sector Donor Coordination Framework to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of development assistance to the sector.

Mr. Salisu Lawal, Director, Planning and Physical Development in the state Ministry for Education, stated this in Kaduna, at the first education sector donor coordination meeting on Wednesday.

Lawal explained that the framework was developed with support from the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL), a governance programme being funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

He said that the first donor coordination meeting was supported by the FCDO-funded Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) programme.

According to him, the goal of the framework is to ensure effective utilisation of resources available in the education sector by harnessing and strengthening the efforts of all partners.

“The idea is to bring all partners supporting the education sector together, share experiences and strengthen synergy toward achieving a common goal.

“We are happy that we were able to hold the first meeting and hope it will continue quarterly with a view to avoiding duplication of efforts and improve service delivery in the sector,” he said.

The director said that multiplicity of donor support, operations and projects, requires proper coordination for effective service delivery.

He identified some of the development partners as UNICEF, Save the Children International, FCDO PLANE, Teaching at the Right Level Africa, FCDO Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn and Skills for Prosperity.

Others, he said, are Bilingual Education Programme, Reaching Out of School Children, Second Chance Education Initiative, and World Bank supported Better Education Service Delivery for All and Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment.

Earlier, Mr. Munkaila Usman, a Monitoring and Evaluation official in the ministry, said that the objective of the meeting was to establish a well-coordinated approach to attracting and managing aid in the sector.

Usman added that the coordination meeting was also to ensure effectiveness by eliminating duplication of efforts among partners.

“The meeting is also to map out education projects and programmes and develop effective monitoring and evaluation coordination systems and draw action plan for effective implementation,” Usman said.

Mr. Mubarak Siraj, PLANE State Reform Facilitator, explained that the seven-year education programme funded by the UK Government is to invest in a more inclusive and effective education system in Nigeria.

According to him, the goal of the programme is to drive sustainable improvements in learning outcomes for Nigerian children.

He said the programme is being implemented in 728 schools across six local government areas – Kaduna South, Kaduna North, Jaba, Soba, Sanga and Sabon Gari.

He said so far, PLANE, in its second year of implementation, has developed materials on literacy and numeracy for primary 1 and 2 pupils’ books and teachers guide, and literacy story anthology.

“We have also begun teachers training and conducted Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA), establishment and inauguration of Community Hubs.

“PLANE has equally supported the conduct of gap analysis of the state Education Policy, capacity gap assessment and currently supporting the State Quality Assurance Authority to develop a Private School Policy.

“Other progress includes socio-demographic survey of non-state sector, graded assessment of private schools, scooping research topics on basic education and strengthening the functionality of Technical Working Groups,” he said.

The Star