School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) and how to study them: a methodological review of a RISE research project

It is becoming increasingly recognised that the education sector in Nigeria cannot be fixed by government alone, and that shifting responsibilities to local stakeholders is necessary due to Nigeria’s large regional and cultural heterogeneities. Nigeria’s School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs), committees made up of parents and other local leaders that help manage local schools, are one potential strategy to accomplish this shift. However, since its launch in 2006 Nigeria’s SBMC policy has been characterised by inconsistent implementation. Though each school is meant to have an SBMC, anecdotal data suggests that most schools do not have functioning SBMCs.