By Nasir Shuaibu
The Bauchi State Ministry of Education has called for stronger coordination among development partners and government agencies implementing education programmes in the state to prevent duplication of interventions and ensure that resources are channelled to areas of greatest need.
The ministry made the call during its quarterly coordination meeting with development partners and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), where stakeholders reviewed ongoing interventions, identified gaps and discussed ways of strengthening collaboration in the education sector.
The Coordinator of Development Partners, Sa’adatu Usman, disclosed this while speaking with journalists on Friday, saying the meeting provided an opportunity for stakeholders to determine who was implementing education programmes, where the interventions were taking place and how similar activities could be harmonised.
She said the ministry had emphasised the need for development partners to align their interventions with the priorities of the state’s education sector, irrespective of the amount of funding attached to individual projects.
Usman also highlighted the digitalisation of the Education Management Information System (EMIS), describing it as a major development that had moved the state from manual data collection to a digital platform.
According to her, teachers had been trained to upload Annual School Census information digitally, while digital equipment had been distributed to schools to facilitate the process.
She said Bauchi had completed its first digital Annual School Census and produced the corresponding report, providing data expected to strengthen education planning and decision-making.
Usman added that the State Education Sector Plan had been developed and disseminated, while the Gender Policy on Education had also been finalised ahead of its formal launch.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ibrahim Ahmad, welcomed stakeholders to the meeting and assured them of the ministry’s support for meaningful partnerships aimed at improving education in the state.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Bauchi State House of Assembly Committee on Education, Dr Nasiru Ala-Chinade, pledged the Assembly’s support for sound education policies presented before it.
He called for the provision of adequately equipped facilities, including medical facilities, in schools across the 20 local government areas to ensure that students have access to timely medical attention when necessary.
Ala-Chinade also advocated the establishment of a dedicated committee to monitor donor and multilateral funding and oversee the implementation of such interventions in the state.
Participants at the meeting included representatives of Development Conversation Initiative Project (SDCI), UNICEF, Plan International, CODE and AGILE, among other development partners and civil society organisations.
The stakeholders identified gaps, challenges and areas where interventions were being duplicated, stressing the need for a coordinated approach to data collection rather than multiple agencies conducting separate exercises.
They also underscored the importance of collaboration among government, development partners and communities in improving education delivery across Bauchi State.
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