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Why UK aid is Ineffective for Nigeria’s Education Sector

By on November 22, 2012

British PM, David Cameron

Just  like Dr Kwame Nkrumah foremost African Leader  had said two decades ago ‘Aids from our former colonial masters serve as apron strings that continue to tie us and keep us at their whims and caprices, which is a new form of colonialism’.

That  quote seems  justified, because   with the aids that have flowed from the United Kingdom, United States, and France to former Colonies in Africa, the various aids ranging from development, health, education and infrastructure have unfortunately not facilitated the purpose intended for either due to corruption and mismanagement.

So the recent report that millions of pounds aid sent from the United Kingdom meant to serve as a catalyst for instrumental education in Nigeria, has failed to achieve the objective and purpose it was released an investigative agency revealed.

About 102million pounds have been spent so far in 10 Nigerian States and the impact of improving pupil learning in basic education in the country has not been actualized because the ‘out of school’ children outcomes has become increasingly alarming especially in 9 of the 10 States supported by the aid.

The Independent  Commission or Aid Impact stated that the  assistance was being faced with the challenge of shortage of teaching personnel and collaborative efforts from the States, which served as gridlocks to proper implementation of the aid programme.

In  retrospect Last year Prime Minister David Cameron when he attended  the  Lagos Business  School Leadership forum pledged more aid assistance for Nigeria, but  it can be recalled also three years ago that Governor Fashola during the visit of the German President stressed that Nigeria did not  need ‘Aids’ but more of ‘Partnerships’ to experience development  and  growth.

The Department for International Development  (Dfid)  education programme has been going through the strains of the needed development of the Education system in Nigeria, due to Poor Infrastructure  and Issues of State Government Funding.

A  Dfid  spokesperson stated that ‘ The report of the ICAI  was inconclusive as it  visited 1% of the schools, most were in one state in Nigeria and  did not take into cognisance and  they did not  capture the progress of the Initiative’.

With these varying report, it may be time for the British Government to consider effective collaboration and partnership  with the Nigerian Government  on their funding plans for the Education, because it is not just releasing aid, but  engaging  the leadership in government to take responsibility.