NAE to Tinubu: Declare state of emergency in education sector
The NAE president lamented that the national policy on education was last reviewed over 10 years ago.
By Idris Temidayo
The Nigerian Academy of Education (NAE) has asked President Bola Tinubu to declare state of emergency in education sector to “holistically” address the rot and decadence in the system.
Kabiru Isyaku, president of the NAE, spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at the 38th annual congress of the organisation, with the theme: “Nigerian education system: Past, present & future.
Isyaku also urged the federal government to stop running of secondary schools and handover all the 115 Federal Government Colleges to the states with comprehensive conditions.
The NAE president lamented that the national policy on education was last reviewed over 10 years ago.
He noted that the declaration of emergency would allow the government to assemble experts for the policy review, and critically address issues like status of education in the Constitution, structure, funding, and relevance of the current curriculum.
He added that issues of evaluation and certification should also be addressed “comprehensively enough to cover all levels and everything to do with education with all stakeholders be it local, state, federal government, employers, religious and other development partners, since education is the responsibility of all”.
Isyaku said there is no synergy between the federal and state governments that could enhance smooth development of education in the country.
He called for adequate remuneration of personnel in educational institutions and the release of their salaries and other entitlements as and when due.
“The federal government, at this stage of the country’s development, should not directly run secondary schools. Instead, federal government should only be in charge of policy and quality assurance,” Isyaku said.
“Thus, all federal government colleges should be devolved to the states with comprehensive conditions.”
He condemned proliferation of educational institutions by federal state governments and called for moratorium on the establishment of new institutions, until the current ones are fully equipped and with adequate personnel as required by the regulatory agencies.
Alhas Maicibi Nok of faculty of education at Nasarawa State University, who was the keynote speaker, bemoaned the high level of corruption in management of educational institutions in the country.
He argued that even though education is faced with the problem of poor funding, the major challenge is the misappropriation of the little resources allocated to the institutions.
Nok raised several posers as to the integrity of those who are appointed to head educational institutions in the country, saying even appointment of vice-chancellors is usually characterised with nepotism and other parochial interests.
While speaking on the decline in quality of teaching and learning in schools, he noted a trend where teachers in most schools teach students for examination instead of teaching for knowledge.
He added that the trend has also fueled sharp practices where marks are no longer earned by students but bought with money or sex for marks among other unwholesome practices.
The event witnessed the induction of 26 new members and elevation of three deserving others to the fellowship level.
Sonny Echono, the executive secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), was also honoured by the academy in recognition of his outstanding contributions to development of in Nigeria.
