Abubakar Ahmed
The Young Leaders Network (YLN), in collaboration with the Bauchi State Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, has convened a review meeting on the second quarter 2025 education sector budget performance in Bauchi.
The meeting, held under the Strengthening Advocacy for Girls’ Education (SAGE) Project funded by the Malala Fund, brought together stakeholders in the education sector, including officials of the State Ministry of Education and its agencies.
Executive Director of YLN, Seun Justin Onarinde, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to ensuring that the state budget aligns with education plans. He said the periodic reviews were necessary to prevent delays in assessing progress, stressing that “we don’t want to wait until the end of the year to realize that as a state, we have not met our education targets.”
In his goodwill message, the Director of Finance in the Ministry of Education, Rabi’u Ibrahim Kubdiya, underscored the importance of efficient resource allocation and management in achieving education objectives. He noted that “budget performance is not just a figure, but rather the allocation of scarce resources to numerous needs to achieve organizational objectives.” He also pointed out the contributions of the AGILE Project, which has addressed many challenges in the education sector.
Presenting an overview of the budget performance, Abubakar Sadeeq Usman, Planning Officer at the Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, observed that while progress has been made in sustaining education funding, challenges remain with the timely release of funds for project execution and delivery of education outcomes.
Stakeholders at the meeting expressed concern over the cumulative 23.02 percent performance of the education sector budget for the first and second quarters of 2025. They identified major challenges, including inadequate teacher development, changes in leadership structures within education MDAs, and insufficient capacity among planning officers.
The meeting recommended a number of solutions such as enhancing budget credibility, strengthening partnerships, improving compliance with budget reporting, prioritizing teacher development, and building the capacity of planning officers.
According to the organizers, the review process is designed to close implementation gaps and ensure that the state meets its education targets. The next round of the review meeting is scheduled for November.