2016 budget: Senate discovers shortfall of N5.338b in Education Ministry

The Senate on Thursday unveiled a shortfall of about N5 billion in the amount meant for meal subsidy of Unity Schools and personnel cost of Kings College in the 2016 Budget proposal.
The shortfall was made known to the Senate Committee on Appropriation ‎during the collation of the 2016 Budget of the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education.
While presenting the report of the Education Committee, the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Education, Senator Rose Oko, informed the senators that only N6.8 billion was proposed for meal subsidy in Unity Schools instead of the N11.2 billion needed.
According to Oko, the amount is grossly inadequate for the unity schools meal subsidy.
She said the implication is that the amount provided will only last for six months, requiring the sourcing go an additional N5 billion to meet up with this shortfall.
Also, the vice chairman informed the committee of the omission of N338 million from the personnel cost of Kings College‎.
She explained to the Committee that instead of N375 million, due to typographical error, the Ministry of Education budgeted N37 million, which amounts to a shortfall of N338 million.
However, the Chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje, promised that his committee would accommodate the omission in the final budget.
According to Goje: “We have to find away of looking for N5 billion in order to cater for subsidy meals in Unity Schools and personnel cost at the Kings College.”