Abia State Government has warned that sanctions would be meted out to defaulting Public or Private Basic Educational Institutions in the state who deny the Federal Government Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC),access to carry out the ongoing 2022 National Personnel Audit(NPA) exercise in their schools.
Briefing Journalists in his office,the Executive Chairman,Abia State Universal Education Board (ASUBEB), Elder Josiah Anonaba, lamented the non compliance of some school to the ongoing exercise and warned that such schools would be shut down.
According to him, the non compliance of schools to the exercise would not only affect the state adversely but also deny it of benefits accruable from the federal government.
Describing data as a prerequisite for planning, Anonaba noted that statistical data collated by the federal government UBEC enumerators would be used to assist government plan effectively towards the expansion of access to quality education in various states including Abia.
He said; “UBEC is providing effective and quality basic education to every child from 0-15 years and has come to do the needful in Abia state through the programme of National Personnel Audit which takes place at every five years interval.
“The NPA programme is compulsory for every school in Abia State both public and private schools so all the schools that harbor the Abia child must open their doors for this national group of enumerators to collate the needed information. That is what UBEC and the federal ministry of education requires from us.
“Any school that resist the enumeration exercise would be shut down”.
He therefore urged the management of both public and private schools in the state to accord the federal government enumerators who would be visiting their schools the needed corporation to ensure the success of the programme in Abia state.
The ASUBEB chairman who also addressed the federal government UBEC enumerators, assured them of the state governments support and urged them to work as a team inorder to achieve a common goal for the good of the education sector.
In her response, leader of the Abia Team for the Federal Government National Personnel Audit of the UBEC, Mrs Ada Oguche said they were in the state to collate a holistic data of all schools adding that the exercise would enable government provide the needed facilities in schools across the country.
“The federal government gives support to schools to enable them provide instructional materials, construct schools, toilets and other infrastructures needed in the education system. Data collated in the NPA exercise would be used for even distribution of infrastructure across schools in various states.
Oguche, who reeled out challenges faced by the team to include resistance and harassment of officials by some schools in the state called for the corporation of all concerned pointing out that the exercise which kicked off in Abia state on the 6th of June is expected to last for three weeks.
“Education for all is the responsibility of all so we need everybody to come on board and help us achieve success in Abia State because it is for the good of the people”,Oguche concluded.
