The Department for International Development (DFID) has defended its support for low-cost private education in Nigeria, saying it has helped improve schools in Nigeria through a number of programmes.
This comes following enquiries by The Nation for the donor agency’s response to accusations by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and Education International (a worldwide union of teachers and education personnel) that DFID provided £3.45million grant to Bridge International Academies (BIA), a U.S. based company, to start private schools in Nigeria in 2014 rather than support the government to expand public education.
Education International commissioned a research on low-cost private schools earlier this year findings of which revealed that BIA was not accessible to the poorest of the poor and did not employ qualified teachers. The research also noted that the Lagos State government relaxed regulation of low-cost private school.
In an email response sent by Chris Okeke, Governance Adviser, DFID Nigeria on Tuesday, the agency funded by the UK government to address global challenges, including ending extreme poverty stated that it had supported the Nigerian government, particularly Lagos State government to improve the framework for regulation of schools and gave support to the private sector because of the demand it met in absence of public sector provisions.
The statement reads in part: “The United Kingdom (U.K.) government’s priority is to ensure children in Nigeria get the education they deserve. In the vast majority of cases this means investing in the state sector to improve public education – most of the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) education funding in Nigeria goes to the public sector.
“DFID recognises that whilst the government must be the guarantor of quality basic education for all, it need not be the sole financer nor provider. Given the sheer scale of non-state provision in Lagos State, we believe it is appropriate to support critical state regulatory and oversight functions, in particular to address equity concerns and address barriers to the poor.”
The agency also stated that most of its funding goes to the public sector, adding that the £3.45million given to BIA was a one-off grant. It also said BIA’s performance was being reviewed.
“DFID provided a grant of £3.45million to BIA between 2014 and 2016. This was completed satisfactorily in September 2016 with 23 schools opened. DFID does not provide ongoing financial support to BIA and has no future plans to do so.
“As part of the evaluation of the DEEPEN programme, DFID commissioned an independent study to help DFID understand the quality of education provided by Bridge, relative to alternatives. The final report of the report is due in a couple of months and the outcomes will be shared widely,” the statement reads.
DFID’s support programme for low-cost private education in Nigeria was implemented through the Developing Effective Private Education Nigeria (DEEPEN), which wraps up its intervention in August.
DEEPEN did not give grants or loans to proprietors of low-cost schools since it started in 2013.
Its Team Leader, Dr Gboyega Ilusanya, said in an email response to questions by The Nation that DEEPEN had strengthened quality in low-cost private schools through training and provision of business development services.
He said: “DEEPEN has facilitated access to affordable and good quality trainings for Head teachers and Teachers to improve teaching and learning in in such schools and as a result, the quality of learning outcomes of children that attend these schools. To date, 3, 971 headteachers and 2,400 teachers have accessed these trainings through 15 service providers collaborating with DEEPEN.” - The Nation
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