By PHILIP YATAI

The Kaduna State Basic Education Accountability Mechanism (KADBEAM) has decried the zero allocation for adult education in the state’s N370.3 billion proposed budget for 2023 before the State Assembly.

KADBEAM is a dialogue platform for government and civil society organisations working together to strengthen citizens participation, transparency, and accountability in the delivery of education services.

A member of the mechanism, Mr. Lesley Dongh, made the observation in Kaduna on Friday, during a public hearing on the budget organised by the State Assembly to receive inputs from citizens.

The public hearing was supported by the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn, a governance programme of the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Dongh acknowledged that the government has allocated a total of N107.72 billion to the education sector, representing 29.1 per cent of the total budget of N370.3 billion proposed for the 2023 fiscal year.

He, however, complained that of the amount, nothing was budgeted for adult education, which he described as “very disturbing”, considering the huge number of adults seeking opportunities to acquire education.

“Analysis of the proposed budget shows that the state government will invest nearly nothing in adult education and mass literacy in 2023.

“Only recently, over 600 adult married women and adolescent girls who dropped out of school or missed the opportunity to acquire education demonstrated interest to enroll in school.

“We want the State Assembly to look into this concern to enable adult men and women, including adolescents, who desire education to have access to educational opportunities and not be left behind,” he said.

Dongh also said that the amount allocated to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was grossly inadequate to create the needed impact.

He particularly lamented the lack of budget line for the procurement of ICT devices to strengthen e-learning especially in the rural areas.

He appealed to the lawmakers to look into the promise by the state government to provide incentive for housing and transportation for teachers, which he said, were not captured in the proposed budget.

“We also want the leadership of the State Assembly to make provisions in the budget to scale up security in public schools across the state,” he said.

Responding, the Deputy speaker, Mr. Isaac Auta, who presided over the public hearing, acknowledged the concerns, adding that the lawmakers would consider the recommendations when working on the budget. (NAN)