A coalition of civil society organisations on Friday urged the Oyo State Government to translate its newly adopted Education Sector Plan 2026–2030 into concrete action through adequate and targeted financial allocations in the 2027 budget.
The coalition made the appeal during a press conference held in Ibadan, the state capital.
The Strategy and Programmes Officer of Invictus Africa, Tobacaleb Akanmu, who addressed journalists, commended the state government for adopting the five-year education sector plan.
The reports that the state government officially launched the five-year Education Sector Plan 2026–2030 in October 2026, marking a significant step towards improving the state’s education system.
The plan was unveiled at the Ibadan Business School, Bodija, Ibadan, through the state Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, in collaboration with education stakeholders and civil society organisations, with funding support from the Malala Fund.
The initiative was designed to strengthen teaching and learning, expand access to education and address inequalities affecting students across the state.
Speaking further, Akanmu urged the government to move beyond policy formulation and address deep-rooted inequalities, inadequate infrastructure, teacher shortages and barriers to inclusive education, particularly those affecting girls and other vulnerable learners.
He said, “Oyo has emerged among the pioneering states in Nigeria to directly connect its structural education priorities with gender-responsive operational budgeting. The real value of the initiative would be determined by the resources committed to its implementation.
“The government must not allow the plan to become another policy document without corresponding financial commitments. A plan is only as strong as the budget behind it.
“The real test of this plan begins with the 2027 budget. The government should ensure that its commitments are reflected in identifiable budgetary provisions capable of delivering measurable improvements across the education sector.”
The coalition lamented the growing number of out-of-school children and adolescents, revealing that approximately one in four adolescents of senior secondary school age in Oyo State remained outside the school system.
According to figures presented by the coalition, female adolescents were marginally more affected, with 24.7 per cent out of school, compared with 23.8 per cent of their male counterparts, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to address gender-based barriers to education.
Akanmu said the state had already taken steps towards building the institutional capacity required to implement the framework, adding that budget officers had undergone specialised training on the Gender-Responsive Education Budgeting and Spending (GREBS) toolkit.
“Because the state’s budget officers have already undergone specialised training on the GREBS toolkit, the institutional capacity for full implementation is readily available,” he said.
The coalition advocated the comprehensive adoption of GREBS, describing it as an essential mechanism for ensuring that public expenditure addressed the distinct challenges confronting girls, boys and other disadvantaged groups.
It said, “GREBS provides a practical framework for moving away from generalised budgetary allocations towards targeted spending that responds to the specific circumstances and needs of learners in different communities.
“Such interventions could include providing adequate and dedicated sanitation facilities to prevent poor hygiene conditions from discouraging adolescent girls from attending school, as well as addressing child labour and economic pressures that expose boys to educational disruption and early disengagement from the classroom.
“We therefore call on the Oyo State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, in collaboration with the state’s budget authorities, to incorporate the plan’s priority targets into the 2027 budget, with clear and dedicated budget lines for girls’ education and other gender-responsive interventions.”
The Oyo State Education Sector Plan 2026–2030 identified seven critical intervention areas, including access, equity and inclusivity; infrastructure and facilities; quality and relevance; system management; resourcing; and resilience and emergency response.
The coalition comprises Invictus Africa and the Education Champions Network.