KADBEAM develops tools, strategies to track education projects in Kaduna
The Kaduna Basic Education Accountability Mechanism (KADBEAM) on Tuesday developed tools and strategies to track education projects across the state.
The Citizens’ Co-chair, KADBEAM, Mr Tijjani Aliyu, said at the opening of the event in Kaduna, that the measure was to ensure quality delivery of education projects and ensure value for money.
The meeting was organised with support from partnership to engage reform and learn.
This is a government programme of UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Aliyu explained that KADBEAM was a dialogue platform for the government and citizens on basic education, working with government agencies to improve the quality of education service delivery in the state.
He said that through collaboration with government agencies and other accountability mechanisms, KADBEAM had been generating feedback and evidence on education services from citizens and communities.
He said that the information generated was used to engage the government and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to enable them to deliver services better.
He said the tracking was to generate the needed evidence and data to enable government to meet the needs of the people and ensure that contractors delivered projects based on specified minimum quality.
PERL’s Partnership Facilitator, Mr Istifanus Akau, said that the objective of the meeting was to review school improvement tracking tool, procurement tracking tool and early childhood development tracking tool and integrate more issues.
Akau added that it was also to support citizens to scale up tracking of basic and post basic schools to enhance girls’-friendly learning environment and safe spaces, using the accountability mechanisms at community level.
“The meeting is also organised to agree on strategise for deploying the new tool and tracking of selected projects.
“The main goal is to help citizens generate evidence and information that will help the government address the problems confronting the basic education sector of the state,” he said.
Mr Abdulsalam Tabari, Deputy Director Parastatal, Office of the State Auditor General, commended KADBEAM for partnering with government to improve the quality of education.
Tabari said that the office had concluded plans to visit some public schools to verify execution of on going projects, adding that the office would be glad to partner with KADBEAM in that respect.
Also, Mr Wilson Barnabas, Assistant Chief Technical Officer, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, said the State Government had spent so many resources in the sector but the result was not encouraging.
Barnanbas appealed to KADBEAM to share information with the Ministry and relevant stakeholders, to enable the government to respond appropriately to their concerns and observations.
Similarly, Mr Peter Adamu, Permanent Commissioner, Kaduna State Fiscal Responsibility Commission, said tracking the delivery of projects and state of infrastructure in public schools would ensure value for money.
“We are happy that citizens are interested in tracking education service delivery and schools’ infrastructure, to help the government ensure that it puts its resources where it is most needed.”
PERL’s State Lead Facilitator, Mr Adejor Abel, said that PERL would continue to facilitate robust discussions between government and citizens.
He said the gesture would encourage citizens engagement in the planning and implementation of policies and programmes.
