By Ben Ngwakwe, Gombe
One of the reasons why the Federal Government of Nigeria conceived and established the North-East Development Commission is not merely to rebuild social and physical infrastructure damaged by the devastating insurgency that ravaged much of the region but also to address the root issues that fueled such and lift the region to a level where such will not happen again, hence NEDC was set up to coordinate and drive a strategic development agenda with a focus on the near-term and future challenges to, and opportunities for development.
No doubt, this event today marks a landmark in the history of the region, the North-East because it marked the beginning of an opportunity to uplift the lives and livelihoods of their people, and indeed, their socio-cultural and economic position in years and decades to come.
This was the assertion of Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alkali who is the Managing Director/CEO, of North-East Development Commission at the launching of the Accelerated Senior Secondary School Education Programme ( ASSEP) in Bauchi on May 18th,2024.
According to Managing Director of the Commission, ” as we embark on this critical mission today, we stand at a vital crossroad in our history that signifies our deep commitment to develop and support the children and youth of the North-East to grow, develop, compete with the best across the world in various fields, excel and contribute to further development of our states, region, country, continent and humanity in the years and decades to come”
Also, suffice to say that the North-East Region consist of people with diverse but rich and complimentary Socio-Cultural and Economic heritage and traditions. Over the decades, the geography, landmass and wide disposal of human settlements (now towns, cities, and villages) presented challenges to effective administration and efficient delivery of social services. As times changed and civilization evolved, this challenge begin to manifest in disparities in development indicators both within the region, and between the North-East and other regions of the country.
It was based on these indices that the North-East Stabilization and Development Master Plan (NERSDMP) was developed by the Commission and its diverse partners to consist of Pillars that supported the Human Capital Development in the North-East Region such as Educated Populace and Healthy Citizens Pillars, alone, which caters for both human capital and physical facilities (infrastructure, teaching/learning materials, etc.) is estimated to cost over N1 trillion.
The Commission has also ploughed other funds in Human Capital training and retraining programmes that can propel socio-economic development of the North East Region. This underscores the premium they placed on building their people and their capacity to make concrete social and economic contribution.
Apart from this trend, the beyond targeting and facilitating the lifting of beneficiaries as a development priority, the Commission also envision the people whose capacity they build today as the future custodians of the legacies they created.
Therefore, the Accelerated Senior Secondary Education Programme (ASSEP) they launched is an intervention focused on addressing a particular challenge in the Region’s education system as well as it will provide effective support where the capacity of conventional schooling arrangements is limited for the teeming beneficiaries.
It may interest you to know that some of the key statistics/indices that led to this development are as follows:- is that Primary Education Completion level of 85% in the North East is among the best in Nigeria, but Secondary School enrolment is a mere 15%, the second worst nationally.
Due to these ugly challenges in the post-primary education sector ,JAMB UTME applications and admissions into tertiary institutions in 2019 were the lowest for the North East compared to other regions in the country.
Nationally, the North East has the lowest number of teachers and the highest percentage (55% of those available) without literacy skills.
These Challenges in post-primary education segment included weak quality indices (infrastructure, personnel and student disposition) and a wide demand – supply gap driven by economic and cultural factors.
The quality and scale of post-primary education (sound secondary education and high completion rates) are major drivers of human capital development.
The Accelerated Senior Secondary Education Programme (ASSEP) seeks to boost the post-primary education rating across the North East Region through three major objectives such as (i) improved enrolment into tertiary institutions (ii) skills development and (iii) elevation of teacher quality.
ASSEP will pay special focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and communication, which foster creativity and critical thinking and it will also motivates and inspires young people to generate new technologies and ideas to learn from inquiry-based tasks.
Also in attendance at the historic event are the Vice – President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima, serving Governors and former Governors from the North East region, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of North East Development Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Goni Alkali, Sir Samuel Onuigbo,a member, representing the South East region in the NEDC, Dr.Illiya, Executive Director, Administration in the Commission, Alhaji Yashi, Executive Director, Humanitarian, Alhaji Mutiu Lawal Are,Dr Mariam Masha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Regional Development , serving senators and members of House of Representatives, political class, traditional and religious leaders, members of the State Houses of Assemblies from the zone. Bureaucrats, Women and youths and other dignitaries witnessed the launching of the ASSEP by the NEDC.
While the ASSEP Key Delivery Pillar is to raise awareness about after-school possibilities and the potential for diligent students to become successful and prominent contributors to the North East Region and Nigeria.
The ASSEP Main Components are to organise Quiz Competitions and Examination coaching especially to establish “one ASSEP Centre in each of the 18 Senatorial Districts” which will be designated as “NEDC Centre of Excellence in Senior Secondary Education” and hold regular tutorials, especially for students enrolled as candidates in WAEC, NECO and JAMB examinations, as well as to hold virtual instructions and to improve teacher quality upgrade respectively.
