DEPARTMENT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE
Mallam Mansir Idris was born on the 4th day of January 1965, in Kankara Town in Katsina State. He started his education career in Kankara Primary School from 1970 to 1976 and proceeded to the then Kaduna Teachers‟ College from 1976 to 1981, where he obtained his Teachers‟ Grade Two Certificate in 1982. He attended College of Education, Kafanchan, Bayero University, Kano, 1986 to 1989 and University of Jos from 1990 to 1991 where he obtained his National Certificate on Education (NCE), B.A Ed, Education and Master‟s Degree in Education Planning and Administration, respectively.
Malam Mansir is a seasoned Education Administrator and an accomplished teacher. He started his teaching career with the then Ministry of Education, Kaduna State. Thereafter, he took up employment as a lecturer at the Federal College of Education, Katsina, 1991 – 1994. He was the Secretary, Caretaker Committee of the defunct National Republic Convention (NRC) 1992 – 1993 after which he joined the defunct National Primary Education Commission (NPEC) in 1994. He served in various capacities with the Commission, as State Coordinator in various State Offices. Acting Zonal Coordinator, Bauchi 2007– 2008; Zonal Director, North-Central Zonal Office in Lokoja and North-West Zonal Office in Kaduna 2014 – 2017; Director, Department of Special Programme, August 2017 to August, 2018 and Director, Department of Quality Assurance from September 2018 to date.
He also attended national and international trainings, few among them includes, Seminars on Economic and Trade for Teachers from African English-Speaking Countries; Shijiazhuang, China 2011; Innovation in Education Technology Silicon Valley, California, USA August
2017, Monitoring and Evaluation and Reporting of UBE Project, NIEPA, Ondo 2009; Strengthening the Capacity of FIS/UBEC/QAES in Quality Assurance Processes and Evaluation Kaduna, 2014, to name but a few.
Mallam Mansir Idris
Director, Department of Quality Assurance
In the area of Research and Publications, he has made an indelible impact in scholarship development. He has to his credit, a number of publication which were published in some journals of Education, among them includes: Examination Malpractice in Primary School, December 2002, UBE Digest Newsletter, Head Teachers as Immediate Supervisor in Primary School, UBE Digest 2001, Planning and Management of UBE Programmes toward effective Goal Achievement in Nigeria, December, 2007, among others.
He is also a Member of National Association of Educational Planners and Managers. He is happily married and has children.
INTRODUCTION
The Department of Quality Assurance is one of the 11 departments of the Commission. It is charged with the responsibility of ensuring high quality basic education through appropriate quality assurance mechanisms as well as prescribing, monitoring, evaluating, and maintaining Minimum Standards, especially in the area of teaching and learning, in basic education institutions.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE
The Department has three Units:
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Assessment
- Zonal matters
Each Unit is headed by the most senior officer in the unit.
STAFF STRENGTH
The table below shows Quality Assurance staff disposition at the Headquarters and the total number of staff at the Zonal and State offices stands at 103 QA Officers.
| S/N | STAFF POSITION | CON | NO. OF STAFF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Director | 15 | 1 |
| 2. | Deputy Director | 14 | 2 |
| 3. | Assistant Director | 13 | 2 |
| 4. | Chief Education Officer (QA) | 12 | 3 |
| 5. | Assistant Chief Education Officer (QA) | 11 | 3 |
| 6. | Principal Education Officer (QA) | 10 | 2 |
| 7. | Senior Education Officer (QA) | 09 | 4 |
| 8. | Education Officer I | 08 | 1 |
| 9. | Education Officer II | 07 | 1 |
| 10. | Senior Confidential Secretary | 09 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 20 | ||
MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT
The main tasks of the department are to prescribe and maintain minimum standards in Basic Education schools, monitor, appraise and oversee the operations of UBEC Zonal and State Offices and evaluate the UBE programme through the following mechanisms:
- Quality Assurance – appraising school effectiveness and efficiency; (through teaching and learning and quality of provisions in schools);
- Prescribing, monitoring and maintaining minimum standards in basic education provisions;
- Assessment of learning achievements at the Basic Education level in Nigeria (e.g. National Assessment of Learning Achievements in Basic Education – NALABE) – determining the normative indices for evaluating learners’ performance;
- Development and application of the Unified National Continuous Assessment Programme (UNCAP) in Nigeria at the Basic Education level;
- Liaising with other Departments in the development of appropriate instruments for the purpose of evaluating their field activities;
- Collaborating with various Development Partners in the monitoring of programmes and projects in Basic Education institutions;
- Co-ordinating activities of Zonal and State Offices.
- Receiving and collating Quarterly Administrative Reports from Zonal Offices.
- Facilitating meetings of SUBEB Chairmen with UBEC Management.
- Facilitating meeting of Zonal Directors/State Coordinators.
- Investigating and reporting on allegations/complaints concerning the Zonal/State Offices.
- Carrying out any assignment that may be directed by the Executive Secretary and/or Management.
FUNCTIONS OF ASSESSMENT UNIT
- Assessing learners achievement in the core subjects, life skills, and non-cognitive aspects of learning.
- Assessing the quality of teachers, learning environment and interactions in the classrooms.
- Developing and distributing Unified National Continuous Assessment instruments and following up their use in schools.
- Developing and maintaining a Test Item Bank for the support of assessment activities in Basic Education implementation.
FUNCTIONS OF MONITORING AND EVALUATION UNIT
- Quality Assurance – evaluating school effectiveness and efficiency (through teaching and learning and quality of provisions in schools);
- Prescribing, monitoring and maintaining minimum standards in basic education provisions;
- Ensure effective conduct of Continuous Quality Assurance (CQA), daily Monitoring and follow-up activities in the state.
FUNCTIONS OF ZONAL OFFICE MATTERS
- Overseeing the operations of UBEC Zonal/State offices; Serving as the clearing house for UBEC activities at the Zonal and State levels;
- Liaising with Departments and Units in the Commission for the purpose of effective coordination of the Zonal and State offices;
- Identifying the Commission’s landed properties in the States through the Zonal and State offices, for proper documentation;
- Reporting early warning/signs of deterioration in basic education institutions in the States with a view to taking urgent steps for remediation;
- Serving as Secretariat to the UBEC/SUBEBs Quarterly Meetings;
ACTIVITIES/PROGRAMMES CARRIED OUT AND ACHIEVEMENTS
CONTINUOUS QUALITY ASSURANCE (CQA)
- 25,424 public primary and junior secondary schools were evaluated between 2019 – 2021 by UBEC,SUBEBs and LGEAs across the country representing 36%
- 12,402 schools covered in Follow-up evaluation between 2019 – 2021 by UBEC,SUBEBs and LGEAs across the country
- 111,858 schools covered in Daily school Monitoring. between 2019 – 2021 by UBEC,SUBEBs and LGEAs across the country
- 43 vehicles (Hilux/Bus) and 1,303 Motorcycles were procured by SUBEBs for their Departments of Quality Assurance and LGEAs across the country between 2019 – 2021 by UBEC,SUBEBs and LGEAs across the country
- 68 Desktops, 508 Laptops and 367 Printers were procured by 35 SUBEBs and FCT UBEB and distributed to LGEAs for CQA and Daily School Monitoring reports between 2019 – 2021 by UBEC,SUBEBs and LGEAs across the country;
- Procurement of other office equipment like Photocopiers, Generators, Projector and their screens, Public Address systems, flip charts and UPSs = 204 across the States and LGEAs.
E-QUALITY ASSURANCE
- 26 States have keyed in fully to e-quality assurance practice, while 5 States partially keyed in as at December, 2021,
- 941 Digital Devices (Samsung Tab A T595) procured by 26 SUBEBs as at December, 2021,
- 26 Cloud Server Applications Installed as at December, 2021, in 26 States
- 26 High-end Desktops were procured and installed as at December, 2021, in 26 States
- 60 Laptops procured for e-quality assurance in 26 States as at December, 2021.
- 640 QAOs from UBEC,SUBEBs and LGEAs trained on EQA as at December, 2021,
- Training of 66 State administrators for E-Quality Assurance as at December, 2021
QUALITY ASSURANCE TRAINING OF QAOs IN STATES AND LGEAS
- First Level Training of 3,400 (100 per State) Quality Assurance Officers from the SUBEBs and LGEAs in 34 States and the FCT between February and June 2021 using the 2017 TPD funds;
- Second Level Training of 3,200 (100 per State) Quality Assurance Officers from the SUBEBs and LGEAs in 32 States using the 2018 TPD funds between August and December, 2021.
ACTION RESEARCH
- Conduct of Action Research on Managing Absenteeism in Primary Schools For Basic Education Delivery in 600 schools in 20 selected States across the 6 geopolitical zones between August – September, 2021.
CONDUCT OF 2021/2022 NALABE
- Development of Work Plan for 2021/2022 NALABE, August, 2021
- Conduct of International Workshop on Large scale assessment, September, 2021
ON-GOING ACTIVITIES
- Preparation for Test Item Development Workshop for 2021/2022 NALABE
- Review of Action Research Report from the Lead Researchers
- Harmonization of Action Research Reports into a National Report
OTHER PAST ACTIVITIES/PROGRAMMES
- Meeting with SUBEBs Directors of Quality Assurance for the review of Action Plans and training of the DQAs on e-quality Assurance (January 2020 in Kaduna State) based on the 2% of FGN-UBE Fund allocated to quality assurance;
- Printing and distribution of the reviewed Minimum Standards in Basic Education. A document that serves as guide in ensuring standards in the delivery of Basic Education across Nigeria (March 2020 in Abuja);
- Printing and distribution of the developed Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) for the effective conduct of Quality Assurance activities by all stakeholders in Basic Education (March 2020 in Abuja);
- Participating in the conduct of all activities in the monitoring circle (Daily School Monitoring, Continuous Quality Assurance and Follow up) on termly basis in the States and technical support services on the new QA processes and procedures;
- Review of (Continuous Quality Assurance, Follow up and Daily School Monitoring) submitted by States (March – December 2020);
- Guide States to key into e-Quality Assurance (January – December 2020);
- Procurement of office equipment and mobility by Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu States, among others, for the conduct of QA in their States (June- December 2020);
- Meeting with Technical Working Committee (TWC) on Action Research and National Assessment (March 2020 in Abuja);
- Signing of MoU with International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) to strengthen the collaboration with International Partners for the conduct of National Assessment in Nigeria (August 2020 in Netherland and Nigeria);
- Meeting of UBEC Management with Executive Chairmen of SUBEBs (March 2020 at Barcelona Hotels, Abuja); and
A banner announcing the meeting of UBEC Management with Executive Chairmen of SUBEBs
The Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Professors Gidado Tahir & Charles Onocha, Bobboyi making a speech at the Meeting former Exec. Secretaries of UBEC present at the meeting
Members of UBEC Management at the Meeting
UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi welcoming Chairmen of SUBEBs to the Meeting
Development of Operational Guidelines Document for UBEC Zonal and State Offices which is now at the printing stage. This is to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the activities of the Zonal and State Offices.
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
The following achievements were recorded by the Department:
- A reviewed Action Plan for the implementation of Continuous Quality Assurance based on the 2% of FGN-UBE fund;
- Interaction and deliberation with both old and new Executive Chairmen of SUBEBs;
- MoU signed with IEA on areas of collaboration;
- Distribution of the Minimum Standards and QAF documents to the relevant Stakeholders for effective conduct of Quality Assurance in the State; and
- Technical Working Committee developed framework template for the conduct of Action Research, National Assessment and Good Performance.
MAJOR CHALLENGES/CONSTRAINTS
The challenges that the Department encountered in the implementation of quality assurance activities included, among other things:
- Most of the Quality Assurance Officers at the SUBEB and LGEA do not have capacity to conduct QA effectively and write report.
- Slow implementation of 2% CQA funds in some states.
- Inadequate Digital Devices (Samsung Tab A T595) at most SUBEBs for E-Quality Assurance
FUTURE PLANS
The Department plans to conduct the following activities/Programmes:
- Conduct of 2021/2022 National Assessment of Learning Achievement in Basic Education (NALABE)
- Third level training of Quality Assurance Officers in SUBEBs and LGEAs.
- Conduct of General E-quality assurance with the use of Tablets.
- Cascading training on QA procedures and practices down to SUBEB, LGEA and the school level including other stakeholders in the States.
- Monitoring of the implementation of Continuous Quality Assurance (CQA) practice in states.
- National Evaluation of the performance of States in the development of Basic Education annually.
- Stakeholders Meeting to deliberate on the Non-implementation of recommendations contained in quality assurance reports by stakeholders (UBEC, SUBEB, LGEA, School and other stakeholders).
- Capacity building for Headteachers and teachers on School Self-evaluation (SS-e).
- Three year target to quality assure all Basic Education institutions in Nigeria.
The Department of Quality Assurance ensures that acceptable standards are attained, maintained and improved upon continually. Quality Assurance processes and practices are dynamic and provide the needed guidance and support to schools for consistent improvement in access and quality of education services. These are carried out through appraising school effectiveness in the areas of teaching and learning, school administration and facilities as well as outcomes for learners
