The Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday disagreed with the Ministerial Implementation Committee on Strengthening Mathematics and Science Education (in) Nigeria project over claims that it presented a budget of N100m for 2013, out of which only N34m was reflected in the budget.
Wike said the budget sent to the ministry by the committee was N87m and not N100m as claimed.
The minister spoke while inaugurating the committee in his office. He blamed the lackadaisical attitude of parastatals involved in implementing the project for its non-implementation.
He assured that government would provide its share of the counterpart funding to ensure the implementation of the project.
The minister, however, cautioned members of the committee to avoid frivolous spending, including embarking on unnecessary trips.
Wike said, “No country can develop without high performance rate in these subjects. We have a high failure rate in these subjects and we really need to improve on this.”
The committee, which was given three weeks to submit its report, was asked among other things, to review the report of the bilateral task team on the project.
It is also expected to make recommendations on how to implement SMASE activities nationwide.
Speaking on behalf of the committee, Director General of the National Teachers Institute, Kaduna, Dr. Aminu Sharehu, said the committee had on return from Kenya in April, summited a report in which it recommended a quick implementation of its recommendations.
Sharehu said attempts to achieve results would remain futile if the funds required to implement it were not released.