NMEC lists factors against NFE growth

National Commission for Adult and No-formal Education (NMEC), has identified low qualification of facilitators as one of the factors hindering the development of non-formal education in the country.
The commission in a communiqué issued after a two-day workshop held in Kaduna, stated that many facilitators were not holders of National Certificate o Education (NCE) as specified in the National Policy on Education (NPE).
Consequently, he facilitators are poorly remunerated, a situation that had continuously discourage more qualified personnel to take up the jobs.

MNEC also frowned at the attitude of some directors, stressing that most state agency directors were new on the job, just as the laws that established the state agencies are obsolete in many states.
“There is inadequate publicity of NFE activities in states and this adversely affects NFE programmes, while low political will by the governments at all levels hampers progress in NFE sector.

Whereas insurgency activities, in some states, adversely affected NFE programmes, the commission stated that under the goals 4 and 5 of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “emphasis is given to NFE programmes and activities”.
The communiqué also stated that the workshop further observed that the illiteracy rate 38 per cent was detrimental to national development just as underfunding at all levels, remained a cog in the wheel of progress to NFE sector.
Consequently, the commission resolved, among other things that
all tiers of government were encouraged to make strategic efforts geared towards improving the literacy rate and specifically develop the 2016 Literacy Targets.
The commission also encouraged that at least five per cent budget allocation of federal, state and local government councils, should be channeled to NFE at different levels.

“All local government chairmen should increase the stipend of their facilitators at least to N7, 500, state agencies and local government authorities should recruit qualified facilitators of NCE holders for NFE programmes as specified in National Policy on Education”, the communiqué stated.
Laws establishing Non-Formal Education in all the states and FCT, the commission advised, should be reviewed and amended to reflect current realities, while directors should be supported to publicise their activities through the media.

While the graduation ceremonies of learners should be elaborately celebrated, the workshop advised that NMEC should initiate actions for high level advocacy visits to state governors and local government chairmen for the purpose of improving the status of state agencies.
NMEC and state agencies were also advised to create centres within the neighborhood of states affected by insurgency to provide access to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).