Williams Anuku
Anthony Anwukah, Minister of State for Education, says Federal Government would strictly monitor the implementation of projects executed under the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) to ensure that the projects do not suffer setbacks as the Millenium Development Goals(MDGs).
Anwukah cautioned stakeholders in the education sector against cutting corners in the bid to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
He also linked administrative lapses and poor implementation strategies to factors which militated against the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) despite its laudable objectives as outlined by the United Nations.
According to Anwukah, weak and improper implementation, non adherence to due process, poor execution of projects as well as lack of capacity on the part of coordinators cannot be extricated from reasons why the MDGs didn’t achieve the desired impact, hence all hands must be on deck not to repeat same in the SDGs.
The Minister made these observation on Monday in Abuja, when he declared a two-day implementation status meeting of 2017 SDG4 beneficiaries opened.
Recall that by 2015 when MDGs elapsed and paved way for the current SDGs, gender inequality, poverty,increase in carbon dioxide emissions and water scarcity topped the list of goals which were not achieved.
Till date the United Nations assessment observed that poor representation of women still persists in parliaments with more girls still out of schools. The goal also sought to ensure that every child in the world got education but access to quality education still remains elucive.
Anwukah who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, said measures were in place to train monitoring and evaluation officers so as to avoid some of the lapses already identified.
“Let me emphasize that, all projects executed by the ministry of education will be subjected to rigorous monitoring at different stages.
“Experiences has shown that there were cases where officials knew what to do but refused to take action because of personal interest, while other lapses were due to lack of experience or capacity. Nigeria’s commitment to achieving SDGs forms the basis of our emphasis on proper projects implementation,”the Minister stated.
Meanwhile, Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Adefulire said the 2030 target date for realising the global SDGs would be a mirage if educational challenges remained unresolved.
According to Adefulire, attaining SDGs by 2030 would encompass a functional education system, one that is accessible by all and responsive to the requirements of 21st century skills.
