The National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Nigeria, was conceived by the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with UNESCO/IIEP Paris, as a Sub Regional Staff College with the main operational mandate and mission of developing a critical mass of education sector planners and managers for the effective and efficient planning and management of the educational system, through capacity building: continuous training, consulting, research, information dissemination and resource center services.

The need for capacity building of the education sector planners and managers cannot be over-emphasized. Most Planners and Managers after their formal education are often neglected and are made to function on the job only through experience or theory without any initial orientation. Educational organizations like others have, however, grown beyond what only experience and theory can assist a person to cope with. It has become more complex and as such one needs regular in-service training to update the individual’s skills so that he or she can function more effectively and efficiently. The National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) was, therefore, established to provide unique service of empowering education sector operators through the provision of specialized and relevant skills in planning, administration and the management of education in Nigeria and West African Sub-Region. NIEPA is going through a period of rapid and exciting development. Many new courses and materials have been developed over the last eighteen months and additional members of the programme staff have brought new skills and perspectives to the training the Institute offers. Highly interactive and participatory programmes are now being held on a regular basis and work is progressing on a blended learning approach to professional development’ as a means of delivering our Annual Training Programme whose preparation has reached advanced stage.