President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to increase the budget for Nigeria’s education sector by 50 percent in two years.
Buhari stated this at the ongoing Education Summit in London, United Kingdom, where country leaders attending the summit signed a document titled, ‘Heads Of State Call To Action On Education Financing Ahead Of The Global Education Summit’.
“We commit to progressively increase our annual domestic education expenditure by 50% over the next two years and up to 100% by 2025 beyond the 20% global benchmark,” the President said at the Summit being co-hosted by the Prime Minister of UK Boris Johnson and the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta.
The summit sought to give the opportunity for leaders to make five-year pledges to support GPE’s work to help transform education systems in up to 90 countries and territories.
In the declaration text released Wednesday by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, Buhari joined Kenyatta to affirm commitment to improve learning outcomes in their respective countries by ensuring equitable access to quality and inclusive education for all citizens, with particular emphasis on the girl child.
“We fully endorse the call for more efficient use of resources and to significantly increase investment in education by strengthening institutions, promoting greater adoption of technology, building the capacities of our teachers and mobilizing additional financial resources through legal frameworks and deliberate intervention on a sustainable basis,” Daily Trust quoted Buhari’s declaration.
“Let us, therefore, raise our hands in solidarity to build a more secure and prosperous future for our children.”