N800 million has been earmarked for Arabic and Islamic studies board in the 2018 budget - Minister of education

By Ijeh Uchechukwu Faith

- N800 million has been earmarked for the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies in the 2018 budget

- The funds will be used for the execution of capital projects and rehabilitating the board's building

- The national headquaters of the board in Kaduna was commissioned on Wednesday, March 7

The federal government has disclosed that it has appropriated over N600 million in the 2018 budget for execution of capital projects at the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS).

The federal government also committed N200 million for the rehabilitation of the board's building.

During the commissioning of the national headquarters of the board in Kaduna on Wednesday, March 7, the minister of education, Malam Adamu Adamu, said efforts are in top gear to capture staff of the board into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), Daily Trust reports.

NAIJ.com noted that Adamu stated that the integration will cost the government over two billion naira annually.

NBAIS is the regulatory and examination body for Arabic and Islamic Secondary Schools and centres in the country.

It was established in 1960 as Arabic and Islamic Studies Unit under the defunct Northern Nigeria Ministry of Education. It became a parastatal of the federal ministry of education in 2017.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that Nigeria's minister of education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, disclosed that the country's education policy was under review to effectively have an impact on students.

The minister made the disclosure during a Microsoft-sponsored education transformation framework workshop on Wednesday, February 21.

He expressed his ministry's willingness to establish a partnership collaboration with Microsoft to make progress in the education sector.