ENCP Education Summit, Abuja, Nigeria.

"Last week I received a phone call from someone I met at the event with the possibility of an exciting opportunity. I won't divulge here in case it doesn't come off but you never know how a random meeting might lead to something in the future" 
Taken from  'Leaving Education - What Next' post 31st Jan 2012

On Valentines Day last week I set off for my first visit to Nigeria and the capital city Abuja for the 'Every Nigerian Child Project' Education Summit. 
I was delighted to be invited to the conference particularly as Laura and I are looking at opportunities overseas in 2013 in development and education. Over the last few years we have been fortunate to visit a number of schools in east and west Africa together (Uganda & Sierra Leone) and as well as seeing stories of hope, we have also seen schools in terrible disrepair with no funds to improve. 
A few facts intrigued me even more about the state of Nigerian education. I was made aware that literacy and numeracy results are at rock bottom with 98% of children not passing their English and Maths secondary exams. The results look even worse when you consider that this is a country where English is the main language.
The purpose of the summit was for a range of individuals and organisations to discuss and investigate ways that civil society can work alongside the government to improve education. The ENCP was set up by Gori Olusina Daniel, an inspirational guy who has recruited an impressive 'crack' team of UK and Nigerian based individuals with a wide range of skills with the sole purpose of making change happen. Laura has known Gori for a few years through work they both do with the Global Poverty Project and it was her that suggested me to Gori to accompany the team to Abuja as someone with education experience and some familiarity with African schools. I first met Gori at the Gordon Brown Global Education event in Sept 2010.  

Day one of the summit was concerned with the current state of the education system and what could be done about it. The news was pretty bleak. 
Research carried out by the DfID funded ESSPIN (Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria) showed that a high percentage of primary school teachers could not carry out simple tasks related to their job which included being able to do and mark primary maths and English work and use raw assessment data for example turning it into percentages. In one of the states they are working in, 86% of teachers were unable to do this. These findings indicated a substantial problem with teacher training. 
Unlike in the UK and many other countries, teachers in Nigeria do not need a degree in order to teach, rather they need an NCE, National Certificate of Education. The qualification does not seem to be fit for purpose. In addition, many teacher training colleges have too many students studying for the NCE. In one case study, an institution had 3000 students, way above the number of jobs available and it meant that some lectures were delivered to 700 people at a time with some students unable to get inside the lecture. The reason for so many students was the income they generate by paying fees but thankfully that particular college reduced its' intake substantially to 200 recently and the hope is that other colleges will follow suit. 
The other major problem in schools are lack of funds which in the main is caused by local government not deploying funds to schools. In many cases, Headteachers have zero funds.

Day two of the summit was devoted to case studies of what is working. Notable examples included integrated development work by ESSPIN and tales of community action with 'School Based Management Committees' who in some cases are active lobbyists to state and federal governments. It was also interesting to hear case studies of private schools that have been set up although sustainability is a key factor in their future success. A strong message to come from the conclusion of the summit was the need for more accountability and governance for the money that disappears before it reaches schools.
  
All in all, the summit was a great success and was a demonstration that there is determination among individuals and NGO's to improve education. Personally, it was a brilliant and worthwhile learning and networking experience and I am very grateful to Gori and the rest of the group for taking me and making me feel part of the ENCP team.
I believe that with reform and hard work Nigeria has a tremendous opportunity to develop a truly balanced education system where academic learning and vocational learning fit together. The policy makers and advisers realise that getting young people ready for work is just as important as academic learning and I met with individuals who seek to embed enterprise education in the curriculum. Mr Gove take note please. Academic qualifications alone do not equal employability.

There is much work ahead for Nigeria but it is in the fortunate position of having some significant enabling factors for change. Firstly the summit proved there is a will from civil society to work alongside government for reform and secondly there is money in this country which ranks highly in the world economic league tables. 
It is certainly a project I feel Laura and I could add real value to also come 2013. Watch this space. 

Members of ENCP with delegates outside the summit.