Skip to main content

Educators' Role Towards Learning For Lasting Peace - Advocate for Reviewed Education Budget Allocation.

This year's international day of education focuses on Learning for Lasting Peace with hashtag #LeadingSDG4, by emphasising the crucial role education and teachers play in countering hate speech.

According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), "Education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility."

If it is a public responsibility, then it's definitely the Government's responsibility as well.

UNESCO also cited that "without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will not succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty that is leaving millions of children, youth and adults behind.

Furthermore, UNESCO stated that, "Today, 250 million children and youth are out of school, and 763 million adults are illiterate. Their right to education is being violated and it is unacceptable. It's time to transform education."

For over several years, education in Nigeria has suffered setbacks.

This is again depicted in the 2024 budget that was proposed.

According to an analysis of the 2024 budget as released by PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwC) and Nigeria Economic Summit Group, out of 27.50 trillion Naira Aggregate Expenditure, only 8.7 trillion (31.6%) was earmarked for capital expenditure, while 9.92 trillion Naira, making 36.1% was allocated for Recurrent and 8.25 trillion Naira (30.0%) for Debt servicing.

For sectoral allocation as published by the budget office of the Federation, which is part of the capital expenditure, only 31.9% of the budget expenditure was allocated. 

Education sector had NGN2.18 trillion allocated making 7.9% of the proposed budget whose projected revenue is NGN18.32 trillion, making the budget already in deficit.

On this International Day of Education, we call on educators and teachers to begin to advocate for the interest of the educational system by engaging with policy makers for upward review of the education sector allocation and to other stakeholders for development of the education sector, rather than embark on strikes and protests that do not address the root cause.

This would foster learning, peace, quality education, development and discourage hate speech.

Happy International Education Day!

#LeadingSDG4 #InternationalEducationDay

Bliss Ojeruse,
Saving Hand Development Initiative (SHADE-IN)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SHADE-IN at 15: Transforming Lives, Impacting Communities—One Step at a Time

A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!  Hurray! We’re 15 Today!🕺💃 Happy Anniversary to Us at Saving Hand Development Initiative (SHADE-IN)! Today, we joyfully celebrate 15 years of transforming lives and impacting communities—one step at a time. To all our donors, partners, stakeholders, volunteers and staff (past and present), board members, management team, beneficiaries, and community supporters—THANK YOU! This milestone wouldn’t be possible without your love, support, and shared belief in the mission. Join us as we reflect, share stories, and spotlight our journey starting from today within the next couple of months this year using the hashtags below.  Let’s celebrate this legacy together! Saving Hand Development Initiative (SHADE-IN) gratefully celebrates F.I.F.T.E.E.N (15) years of: F – Faith and Faithfulness I – Initiative, Innovation, Inspiration and Impact F – Fortitude and Forging Resilience T – Tenacity and Transformation E – Excellent Executions E – Empowerment and Empathy N ...

International Day of Conscience: When Moral Outrage Misfires – A Case Study in Ethical Activism

Abstract On this International Day of Conscience, we reflect on the delicate balance between righteous indignation and ethical responsibility. This article examines a 2025 incident in Nigeria where an activist’s public confrontation of a struggling mother and her 11‐year‐old daughter escalated into a humiliating episode.  The case, which involved the exposure of the child’s face in violation of child protection guidelines, ultimately led to a public apology from the activist and compassionate intervention from well-meaning Nigerians including the famous chess player and philanthropist Tunde Onakoya, and the founder of Buchymix, who stepped in and offered to support the child’s education and the family's welfare, including accomodation.  Through this analysis, we explore the complexities of activism that neglects empathy and the need for a conscientious approach in public discourse. Introduction Conscience guides us in differentiating right from wrong, yet its application in pu...

My Sexuality and I: My Unashamed Love 💕

My Story and Sexuality Sexuality can be a tricky subject to navigate, especially when you’re young and still figuring out who you are. But one thing I’ve learned through my own journey is that your sexuality is yours to define, and there’s no shame in it—no matter what it looks like or the world's views. This is my story and I hope it inspires you. Growing up, I had a close friend named Franca. We were very close and everyone knew us.  Then, I was more often attracted to girls at different times and we could be so close. Today, a lot of young people get attracted to persons of different sexual orientation - a girl can get attracted to a girl, a boy to a boy, a girl to a boy and vice versa. There is nothing wrong with this on a platonic basis. Child This has been falsely interpreted as them having a different sexual orientation from whom their Maker made them, which informs their gender identity - gay, lesbian and every other identity. This has led to other forms of sexual orientati...