School-Based Management Committee-School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) has provided support towards the execution of community priority-based projects in public primary schools with a view to enhancing access, quality and equity in basic education delivery in Nigeria. In line with this, the Universal Basic Education Commission Governing Board approved the commencement of the 2019 FGN/UBE allocation for the implementation of the SBMC-SIP activities.

The Department conducted series of SBMC-SIP activities, which included the verification of prospective beneficiaries and the selection of 31 beneficiary Schools out of the 40 Schools verified in each of the 36 States and the FCT. The Cluster-Based Training is a critical aspect of the SBMC-SIP implementation process aimed at building and enhancing the capacity of grassroot project implementers to effectively execute designated projects in their domains. 

The Cluster-Based training was conducted in 2 phases: the Northern and Southern phase in the 3 Senatorial District of each State and was facilitated by SUBEB Directors of Social Mobilization, SUBEB SBMC Desk officers and UBEC Social Mobilization Staff who were trained as master trainers. Three (3) representatives of the Project Implementation Sub-Committee (PISC) members of the 31 selected beneficiary Schools (93 per State), SBMC Desk Officers from each beneficiary Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), SUBEB Social Mobilization Officers (SMOs).

The objectives of the Cluster-Based training was aimed at building and enhancing  the capacity of the Project Implementation Sub-committees and LGEA SBMC Desk Officers to enable them execute designated projects effectively in their domains, coordinating the SBMC-SIP Project Implementation Sub-Committees and LGEA SBMC Desk Officers in line with the standards stipulated in the SBMC-SIP Implementation Manual and guiding the SBMC-SIP Project Implementation Sub-committees and LGEA SBMC Desk Officers on the best approaches towards achieving expected outcomes.

At the course of the training, the following official ceremonial activities were carried out:

1. Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by each beneficiary School; and
2. Receipt of Award Letters by the beneficiary Schools/Community.

The Reviewed SBMC-SIP Implementation Manual was used and the major elements that were emphasized at the Cluster-Based training were: 

1. LGEA Technical Committee
2. Project Funding and Timing

• Project Implementation

1. Project Sub-Committees
2. Planning the Implementation of Your Project
3. Implementing Your Project

• Organizing Voluntary Community Labour
• Project Monitoring and Supervision

1. Accounting Procedure
2. Keeping Project Accounts
3. Legal Matters

• Project Cancellation
• Completion of Project
• Project Maintenance and sustainability

The Cluster-Based training achieved the following:

1. A total number of 3441 PISC members and 774 LGEA desk Officers were trained nationwide;
2. 1147 Beneficiary Schools signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU); and

• 1147 Beneficiary Schools received their Award Letters.

The general observation gathered from the State report indicated that: the Cluster-Based training was a success because the training was interactive; participants were given the opportunity to express themselves by asking questions and sharing ideas that would help in the implementation of the projects; past experiences from the 2017/2018 SBMC-SIP project implementation process to guide the SBMC PISC members were also shared from the SUBEB Social Mobilization desk Officers; funds should be disbursed on time to facilitate project implementation; Mid-term monitoring should be conducted within the stipulated time to facilitate final disbursement of funds to beneficiary schools; and beneficiary Schools should carefully select projects they can execute (able to provide counterpart funds for) to avoid changing of projects after it has been approved.

In conclusion, the cluster-based training was successful in building and enhancing the capacity of School-Based Management Committee-School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) Project Implementation Sub-Committee (PISCs) and LGEA SBMC Desk Officers to enable them execute designated projects effectively in their communities and adhere strictly to the provisions of the implementation Manual.

NATIONAL REPORT ON CLUSTER-BASED TRAINING OF SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE-SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME (SBMC-SIP) PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION SUB-COMMITTEES (PISCs) AND LGEA SBMC DESK OFFICERS IN THE 36 STATES AND FCT

                                                MAIN REPORT

•          Introduction

School Based Management Committees (SBMCs) are common features in education reforms across the world. Such Committees have been seen to serve as linkages between the Government, the school and the community, thus enhancing the school governance, the mobilization and effective utilization of resources for quality education service delivery.

In line with the above, the UBEC Governing Board approved the allocation of funds from the 2019 FGN/UBE intervention for the implementation of the SBMC-SIP. The Department had conducted the following activities before the cluster-based training which were: the training of Masters trainers on 2019 SBMC-SIP implementation; sensitization of grassroots stakeholders on modalities and expectations regarding the 2019 SBMC-SIP implementation; distribution and retrieval of proposal forms from eligible prospective beneficiary schools/communities seeking to be considered for UBEC funding support, to all States and FCT, verification and selection of 31 beneficiary Schools in each of the 36 States and FCT.

Having concluded the aforementioned initial activities, and selection of 1147 beneficiary Schools nationwide, the Commission organized the training of Project Implementation Sub-committee (PISC) members and LGEA SBMC desk officers in order to build and enhance their capacity in the execution of projects, coordinate and guide them on the best approaches towards achieving expected outcomes.

•          Objectives

The Cluster-based training is a critical aspect of the implementation process and was aimed at:

1. building and enhancing the capacity of PISCs and LGEA SBMC Desk Officers to enable them executed designated projects effectively in their domains and adhere strictly to the provisions of the implementation Manual;
2. coordinating the SBMC-SIP PISCs and LGEA SBMC Desk Officers in line with the standards stipulated in the SBMC-SIP Implementation manual; and

• guiding the SBMC-SIP PISCs and LGEA SBMC Desk Officers on the best approaches towards achieving the expected outcome.

•          Modalities for the conduct of the Exercise

1. The training was conducted in two phases, the Southern and Northern phase in the three senatorial zones of each State;
2. The training lasted for 3 days, each day in a Senatorial District;

• The training was facilitated by SUBEB Directors of Social Mobilization, SUBEB SBMC-SIP Desk Officers and UBEC Social Mobilization Staff who were trained as Master Trainers. Hence, two UBEC Social Mobilization staff were assigned to each State;

1. Social Mobilization Staff involved in the activity ensured that, the Memorandum of Understanding was properly filled and signed and UBEC’s copy was returned back to the office; and
2. award letters were handed over to beneficiary schools at the course of the training.

•           Document used for the training

The Reviewed School-Based Management Committee-School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) Implementation Manual was the document used in the training. The topics emphasized at the training were:

1. LGEA Technical Committee
2. Project Funding and Timing

• Project Implementation

1. Project Sub-Committees
2. Planning the Implementation of Your Project
3. Implementing Your Project

• Organizing Voluntary Community Labour
• Project Monitoring and Supervision

1. Accounting Procedure
2. Keeping Project Accounts
3. Legal Matters

• Project Cancellation
• Completion of Project
• Project Maintenance and sustainability

•          Number of Participants trained

A total number of 3,441 Project Implementation Sub-Committee (PISCs) members and 774 LGEA Desk Officers were trained nationwide.

•          General Observations

The following observation was made towards improving the 2019 SBMC-SIP:

1. mix up of project types: some Schools were given project type they did not apply for; For instance, a School in Kano applied for Micro but Macro was approved for them;
2. training halls in some States were not conducive for training;

• funds should be released in time to facilitate the implementation and completion of project within the stipulated time frame;

1. Mid-term monitoring should be conducted within the stipulated time to facilitate final disbursement of funds to beneficiary schools;
2. the number of beneficiary schools should be increased to create a conducive environment that will facilitate teaching and learning;
3. there should be increment in the funds disbursed to beneficiary schools as costs of items are on the rise; and

• notifications from UBEC on the Cluster-Based Training should have been sent to SUBEB’s on time for adequate preparation ahead of the activity;

7.0Recommendations

1. Timely disbursement of funds to beneficiaries and implementation should be done early considering the high rate of inflation in the country;
2. Verification Officers should pay rapt attention and understand the request/need of the beneficiary schools to avoid allocating projects to schools that cannot implement with the support funds;

• More schools should benefit from SBMC-SIP funds to add more value to basic education in the country;

1. The commission should ensure continuity of the programme due to the impact it has on the schools; and
2. The need to review the funds for the Projects because of inflation.

7.0     Conclusion

The aim of the cluster-based training was achieved in building and enhancing the capacity of School-Based Management Committee- School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) Project Implementation Sub-Committee (PISCs) and LGEA SBMC Desk Officers to enable them execute designated projects effectively in their communities and adhere strictly to the provisions of the implementation Manual.

The participants were properly trained and guided in line with the standards stipulated in the SBMC-SIP Implementation manual on project implementation. Facilitators did a good job by ensuring all the necessary topics were well covered and participants were taken step by step on how to fill the forms.

In conclusion, participants were trained with skills on the best approach towards achieving a completed project at the end of the implementation phase.