The Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, has unveiled plans to launch a national documentary, a regular publicity bulletin and a coordinated digital campaign to showcase the impact of federal government interventions in basic education across Nigeria.
The initiative is part of efforts to counter misinformation, correct negative public perceptions and make visible the huge investments in school infrastructure, teacher development and learning resources.
Acting Head of Corporate Communications, UBEC, Mrs. Kemi Abass, disclosed this on Monday in Keffi, Nasarawa State, at the 12th Annual Training Workshop for Public Relations and Information Officers of UBEC and State Universal Basic Education Boards, SUBEBs, from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The workshop, which drew image-makers of basic education from across the country, was declared open by the Chairman of Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Kassim Mohamed.
Abass said the Commission was concerned that despite massive interventions by the federal and state governments, public discourse on basic education is still dominated by images of dilapidated structures and out-of-school children, while thousands of success stories remain untold.
According to her, the responsibility of PR officers has evolved beyond issuing press releases, covering events and posting on social media.
“We must move from routine publicity to proactive, strategic and impact-driven communication. Every classroom constructed, every teacher trained, every child who can now read because of our interventions is a story of transformation that deserves public attention,” she said.
She listed new communication tools officers must adopt to include short documentaries, human-interest stories, infographics, interviews and beneficiary testimonials.
“The Commission is looking towards establishing a regular UBEC publicity bulletin that will chronicle interventions state by state, producing a national documentary that captures success stories across UBEC and SUBEBs, and launching a coordinated national digital campaign to improve awareness and visibility of basic education,” Abass said.
She called for stronger synergy between UBEC and SUBEB communication units to ensure timely information sharing, coordinated messaging and consistent projection of achievements.
In her keynote address, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba, charged PR officers to embrace innovation, professionalism and strategic communication as a core pillar of educational development.
Garba, represented by the Director, North Central Zone, Mr. Edward Ababalaka, said effective communication is essential to ensuring that government interventions are understood, appreciated and supported by communities.
She noted that while substantial progress has been recorded in infrastructure development, teacher professional development, provision of instructional materials and digital learning initiatives, the sustainability and public ownership of those gains depend on how effectively they are communicated.
“Public Relations Officers are critical to translating educational policies and programmes into narratives of impact, building public confidence and mobilising communities to support basic education delivery. You must be proactive, innovative and responsive, particularly in the face of the growing influence of digital media and the challenges of misinformation,” she said.
Garba said the 12th edition of the annual workshop was deliberately designed to strengthen officers’ capacity in advocacy, media relations, stakeholder engagement, content development, digital communication, reputation management and strategic information dissemination.
She also appealed to Chairmen of SUBEBs to adequately support and empower their Public Relations Departments, describing the officers as image-makers whose work directly affects public perception of government performance in the education sector.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Education on Media and Communications, Mr. Ikharo Attah, said effective and timely storytelling is key to sustaining public confidence in ongoing reforms.
Attah who reaffirmed the commitment of the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, to transforming the education sector, said isolated cases of poor facilities should not be allowed to overshadow thousands of new and renovated schools across the country.
“There is progress in school infrastructure development. That progress must be consistently communicated to the public. If we don’t tell our stories, others will tell it for us with the wrong narrative,” Attah said.
He commended UBEC’s Corporate Communications Department for its publicity materials, Frequently Asked Questions, FAQs, and public awareness drives, urging the Commission to cascade such templates to the state level for uniformity and greater impact.
Kuni Tyessi
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