ABUJA, Nigeria – The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has urged state education boards to adopt more innovative communication strategies to demonstrate the impact of government investments in basic education.
The commission’s Executive Secretary, Dr Aisha Garba, made the call on Monday in Keffi, Nasarawa State, during UBEC’s 12th Annual Training Workshop for public relations and information officers.
The workshop brought together communication officers from UBEC and State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to strengthen communication, advocacy and public engagement in the education sector. Garba, whose address was delivered by UBEC’s Director of the North Central Zone, Edward Ababalaka, said communicating government achievements was as important as implementing education programmes.
She noted that public understanding and support were essential to sustaining progress in basic education, but warned that investments in school infrastructure, teacher training, instructional materials and digital learning could go unrecognised without effective communication. The UBEC chief described public relations officers as a vital link between government policies and the communities they are designed to serve.
She urged them to move beyond routine press releases and event coverage by using digital platforms, human-interest stories and other creative approaches to document and communicate the results of education interventions. “Every classroom constructed, teacher trained and learning resource provided represents a story of transformation deserving public attention,” she said.
The Special Adviser to the Minister of Education on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, called for consistent communication of government projects, while the Dean of UBEC and SUBEB Public Relations Officers, Richard Nanpon Jonah, advocated dedicated budgetary allocations for public relations departments.
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