UBEC calls for revitalisation of Zonal offices to boost education

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has called on its officials at the zonal office to revitalise their offices for effective operation.

The Executive Secretary, UBEC, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja, at a two-day management meeting on strengthening Zonal and State Offices towards improved efficiency and productivity.

Bobboyi said that the commission was required to work closely with and support the State and Local Government UBE agencies, among others to effectively discharge its mandates.

He said that the commission would also ensure functional relationship with the SUBEBS, LGEAs and UBE stakeholders across the country in the programme implementation.

“It became incumbent on the commission to establish an implementation structure which will bring it closer to where basic education implementation is taking place.

“This need informed the establishment of UBEC Zonal and State Offices.

“There is a Zonal Office in each of the geo-political zones, a Sub-zonal office in the FCT, and a State Office in each of the remaining States without the Zonal Office.

“The functions and responsibilities of the Zonal and State Offices were clearly defined with emphasis on the promotion of cooperation and synergy between the Headquarters and the field offices.

“The arrangement worked smoothly, harmoniously, efficiently and effectively to the overall advantage of the commission,” he explained.

According to him, the field offices function as the required link between the commission and the SUBEBs and UBE stakeholders at the State and Local Government level.

“They monitored projects and other school activities and provided feedback to Headquarters to facilitate informed decision making.

“However, in the course of time, it was observed that the Zonal and State Offices were becoming incapacitated. The functions of the field offices were gradually usurped and concentrated in Headquarters.

“For example, the Headquarters became comfortable sending staff members from Abuja to the fields to perform assignments that the Zonal and State Offices were established to perform.

“It got to a level that staff members sent from Headquarters to the States will not bother to visit the Zonal and State offices to announce their presence in the states,” Bobboyi said.

The executive secretary further explained that the commission’s departments would implement activities in the states without the knowledge and participation of the UBEC State Offices.

He said as a result of this project and other monitoring activities, which were among the commission’s major functions also suffered, hence the need to restructure the implementation channels.

“It was these developments that triggered the decision of the management to review its implementation structure, arriving at the critical decision that some reorganisation is necessary and urgent.

“It also thought right that one of the key areas that should receive immediate attention is the strengthening of the Zonal and State Offices and empowering them to perform the functions assigned to them when they were established,” he said.

He also assured them the management’s support in the areas of staffing and staff training, provision of working tools, decent office accommodation, funding, transportation, and others to ensure effective production.