By Kwin Israel, The Sight News
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has urged public relations and information officers across the country to adopt innovative and strategic communication approaches to showcase the impact of government interventions in basic education and strengthen public confidence in the sector.
Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba, gave the charge on Monday at the commission’s 12th Annual Training Workshop for public relations and information officers of UBEC and State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), held in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
Dr. Garba whose address was delivered by the Director, North Central Zone, Edward Ababalaka, said effective communication remained a critical component of educational development, noting that government investments in school infrastructure, teacher development, instructional materials and digital learning initiatives must be adequately communicated to the public.
She observed that the success of these interventions depended not only on their implementation but also on how effectively their benefits were communicated to stakeholders and communities.
The UBEC Executive Secretary described public relations officers as important links between government policies and the public, urging them to move beyond routine publicity to documenting success stories, building public confidence and mobilising community support for basic education.
She also challenged the officers to be proactive and innovative in responding to the growing influence of digital media and the spread of misinformation.
According to her, the workshop was designed to strengthen participants’ capacity in advocacy, media relations, stakeholder engagement, content development, digital communication, reputation management and strategic information dissemination.
Dr. Garba further called on SUBEB chairmen to provide adequate support and resources for their public relations departments, describing the officers as key image-makers responsible for projecting the achievements of their respective boards.
In her welcome address, the Acting Head of Corporate Communications at UBEC, Kemi Abass, said the responsibilities of public relations officers extended beyond issuing press releases, covering events and posting updates on social media.
She urged participants to embrace proactive and impact-driven communication that demonstrates how government interventions are improving teaching and learning outcomes.
Abass encouraged the use of contemporary communication formats, including short documentaries, human-interest stories, infographics, interviews and beneficiary testimonials, to make information more engaging and accessible.
She also advocated stronger collaboration between UBEC and SUBEB communication units to promote timely information sharing, coordinated messaging and consistent publicity across the country.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Education on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, emphasised the importance of timely and effective communication in showcasing the Federal Government’s achievements in the basic education sector.
Attah reaffirmed the commitment of the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, to transforming the education sector, noting that progress in school infrastructure development and other interventions needed to be consistently communicated to the public.
He urged public relations officers to ensure that ongoing projects and their impact were adequately reported, so that isolated cases of inadequate facilities did not overshadow broader developments in the sector.
Earlier, the Dean of UBEC/SUBEB Public Relations Officers, Richard Nanpon Jonah, called for dedicated budgetary allocations for public relations activities across SUBEBs.
Jonah said adequate funding would enable communication officers to effectively publicise interventions and demonstrate the impact of investments in basic education through transparency and sustained stakeholder engagement.
The workshop, which brought together UBEC and SUBEB public relations officers from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, was declared open by the Chairman of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Kassim Mohamed.
