IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATION 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Despite being the largest economy on the African continent, Nigeria has made slow progress in the provision of quality education for all. As the most populous country in Africa, it is also home to the highest number of out-of-school children in the world (estimated at around 20 million). The objective of this session is to set the stage for all stakeholders to understand the major issues highlighted in the education sector. The discourse will focus on how to implement the sustainable development goals and aspirations outlined in the post-2015 global and continental frameworks. It will also align with the government’s renewed Hope Agenda on Education in Nigeria. The paper will provide a synthesis of key successful practices and lessons learned from national cases studies, research reports and presentations at various consultation forums. The presentation also highlights the global assessment of Nigeria’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The issues raised revolve around equitable access, quality of education, learning crises, policy implementation and financing of basic education. The paper recommends that foundational skills are the building blocks of future schooling success, and that Governments need to continue sealing the visible cracks in the educational systems through deliberate strategic interventions in foundational learning. These include the production of appropriate pedagogical resources for foundational learning, expanding learning spaces, availing, and mining data and evidence for education decision-making regarding foundational learning, continuing with the catch-up programmes such as remediation, and incorporating methodologies, practices, child-centred approaches for different learners. The domestication and implementation of various education policies and laws in critical to the education reform in Nigeria. The paper also recommends the principle of inclusion of all the education stakeholders in Nigeria: civil society organisations and the private sector, development agencies and foundations, teachers’ unions, parents’ associations, women and youth movements, research and expertise networks, etc.