Represented by the Federal Commissioner of NPC in charge of Taraba State, Sani Sule Saleh, Kwarra explained that the conduct of the survey was a fulfillment of the mandate of the commission as contained in the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution. Kwarra said the exercise was in response to the imperative of providing data for national planning, particularly in the education sector, adding that without data there could not be effective planning of any sort because it inspired development. He further said currently the Federal Government, with support from the World Bank, was implementing the BESDA programme in 17 focus states across the six geopolitical zones.