Education stakeholders, on Friday, urged the Oyo State Government to fund its newly adopted 2026–2030 Education Sector Plan in the 2027 budget.

They made the call in Ibadan at a news conference themed “From Education Priorities to Action: Financing an Inclusive and Equitable Education Future for Oyo State”.

The stakeholders, under the aegis of the Education Champions Network (ECN), include YouthHubAfrica, Onelife Initiative, ACE Charity Africa, Invictus Africa, AREAi, Education as a Vaccine and the Oyo State Education Coalition.

In his address on behalf of the network, Tobacaleb Akanmu, strategy and programmes officer, Invictus Africa, commended the Oyo State Government for developing and adopting the plan, which was launched on October 6, 2026.

According to him, the plan is gender-responsive and comes with an operational framework for gender-responsive budgeting.

He said the plan had placed Oyo State among the first states in Nigeria to link education priorities to how education funds are planned and spent.

“The message of the education champions network is simple: a plan is only as strong as the budget behind it, and the real test begins with the 2027 budget,” he said.

According to him, the plan sets out seven priorities: access, equity, inclusiveness and gender responsiveness; infrastructural facilities; and quality and relevance.

Other priorities are Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET); system management; resourcing and financing; and resilience and emergency response.

Mr Akanmu said that although public schools account for 82 per cent of the state’s roughly 2.6 million students, the challenges remained significant.

He disclosed that at the primary level, there was one teacher for every 111 pupils, nearly three times UNESCO’s benchmark of one teacher to 35 pupils.

According to him, Ibadan North-West records 229 pupils per teacher.

He added that at the senior secondary level, about one in four adolescents was out of school, with girls at 24.7 per cent, slightly higher than boys at 23.8 per cent.

He explained that Gender-Responsive Education Budgeting and Spending (GREBS) translates plan priorities into funded and implementable activities.

According to him, GREBS asks practical questions such as what intervention is needed, who benefits, where the need is greatest, what it costs and how the impact will be measured.

He noted that state budget officers had been trained on the toolkit.

He called on the Ministries of Education and Budget to reflect the plan’s priorities in the 2027 budget through clear gender-responsive budget lines, including a dedicated line for girls’ education and the appointment of desk officers.

He also urged the Oyo State House of Assembly to review education budgets for gender responsiveness during appropriation and oversight.

He further called for regular public reporting that distinguishes what has been committed, funded, spent and verified through results.

Mr Akanmu appealed to the media to report not only that the plan existed but also what it meant for learners, and to follow the money to ensure that funds reached schools and learners who needed them most.

He thanked the Malala Fund and other stakeholders for their contributions.

(NAN)