Assessment of Public Expenditure on the Provision of Basic Education Infrastructure in Bauchi State

Musa Lumi, Abubakar Faruk, Dalhatu M. Jummare & Habibu Ahmed

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Abstract

About 20 million children in Nigeria are not attending school. In Bauchi State, just 129,459 youngsters received an education, compared to 587,697 in 2018. The study was designed to determine the effect of capital expenditure on the provision of infrastructural facilities for the provision of basic education in the selected local Government Areas of Bauchi State. The study made use of Wagner’s Increasing State Activities theory, while a convergent mixed method was used on a sample size of four hundred and sixty (460). The multi-stage sampling techniques were used for the study, while methodological triangulation was used for data collection, and simple linear regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis. The study revealed that expenditure on basic education has drastically increased in the areas of construction and renovation of classrooms, provision of boreholes and toilets, furniture, and libraries, though some classrooms had no furniture, and some are in a deplorable condition that needs quick intervention. The study recommended that there is a need for a consistent and collective effort by the Government to provide educational infrastructural facilities, to ensure the provision of qualitative basic education. Also, the government needs to invest more in education for the growing population, especially during this economic hardship, where things are becoming harder and people cannot access private schools due to insufficient funds.

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