VZCZCXYZ0013
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUJA #2637 2791215
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061215Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7403
INFO RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS PRIORITY 5252

UNCLAS ABUJA 002637 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: NI SCUL
SUBJECT: MINISTER OF EDUCATION OUTLINES REFORM AGENDA 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: On September 11, Ambassador John Campbell met 
with Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, to discuss 
sweeping reforms to the education sector.  Though funding 
remains its principal obstacle, Ezekwesili,s reform agenda 
includes replacement of all department heads of the Ministry 
of Education, &cleaning-up8 the Universal Basic Education 
Commission (UBEC), and committing petroleum funds and other 
resources to teacher training and recruitment, curriculum and 
classroom modernization, and increased digging of boreholes 
in the North.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. BACKGROUND: Obiageli Ezekwesili earned the nickname 
&Madame Due Process8 from her time spent reviewing 
government contracts in the President,s Budget Monitoring 
Intelligence Unit (BMIU).  Known for her transparency, 
honesty, personal and professional integrity, and reform 
agenda aimed at bringing in line GON units under her charge 
to an international standard of effectiveness, Ezekwesili 
assumed duty as Minister of Education in June 2006 following 
a stint as Minister of Solid Minerals, where she spearheaded 
major reforms in policy development and implementation. 
Ezekwesili promises to breathe new life into the slow, 
inefficient Ministry of Education, formerly staffed with 
&old timers8 uninterested or reluctant to initiate reforms. 
 
 
¶3. Notably, Ezekwesili,s appointment as Minister is viewed 
as President Obasanjo,s delivery on his commitment to 
introduce true reforms in the education sector.  END 
BACKGROUND. 
 
------------------------- 
EZEWESILI,S REFORM AGENDA 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. Ezekwesili outlined an ambitious multi-tiered education 
sector reform program, including the reshuffling and 
replacement of Ministry of Education department heads with 
young, highly educated, private sector-minded professionals. 
While reform efforts focus on developing a more robust policy 
architecture through &cleaning-up8 the Universal Basic 
Education Commission (UBEC) ) a heavily-funded Ministry 
parastatal in charge of implementing basic education in 
Nigeria ) and halving the current set of 26 Ministry 
parastatals, the principal setback to implementation remains 
funding.  In view of this, Ezekwesili proposed allocating 
about 2% (N32 billion) of the nation,s petroleum income to 
fund UBEC, with N15 billion of that going directly to State 
governments.  She stressed the obvious need to ensure 
transparency in the disbursement of funds by obligating 
States to furnish a disaggregated budget and expenditure 
report.  Local communities, Ezekwesili noted, must be 
encouraged to participate actively in funding decisions and 
given the opportunity to receive matching grants from UBEC 
for initiatives that directly benefit schools. 
 
¶5. With respect to curriculum and classroom modernization, 
Ezekwesili opined that in order for Nigerians to meet the 
demands of the 21st century, all levels of education need 
upgrading.  Since only 10% of secondary school graduates 
presently go on to either higher education or employment in 
Nigeria, schools must be equipped with requisite access to 
information technology.  Importantly, she announced a pivotal 
program to revamp teacher pre-service and in-service training 
to focus on improved content knowledge and cutting-edge 
practices in class management and pedagogy.  In order to 
attract and retain qualified teachers to work in challenging 
locations, Ezekwesili is exploring avenues to increase 
compensation and incentives. 
 
¶6. In an attempt to ensure the ability of girls to attend 
primary school, particularly in areas where attitudinal 
challenges to girl education persist, Ezekwesili proposed 
increasing the number of female teachers and placing 
boreholes within school compounds in the North.  Locating 
boreholes within school compounds makes available water for 
use in the school (toilets, hydration, and hygiene) and for 
use by the community.  While the Ministry has funds for 
construction, Ezekwesili solicited USG equipment assistance 
in digging the boreholes.  Ezekwesili explained that funds 
from recent debt relief agreements will be used for the 
acquisition of text books in the four core subjects of 
Mathematics, English, Basic Technology, and the Integrated 
Sciences for schools in the Girls Education Project states 
(located in the 19 Northern states). 
FUREY