President Muhammadu Buhari has called for improvement in the quality of teaching and learning in educational institutions, as well as access to education in Nigeria.
This is just as the President also backed the current education reforms of Governor Nasir el- Rufai of Kaduna state.
The President, who was speaking on Monday, at the Presidential retreat on education for ministers, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the situation has become so dire, that urgent steps must be taken to address challenges in the sector.
“In those days, teachers treated their students or children like their own children. If you did well, they would tell you, you did well, if you didn’t do well, they never spared the rod.
“It is a very serious situation, when teachers cannot pass their exams that they are supposed to teach the children to pass. It is a very tragic situation we are in and this our gathering together, to me is one of the most important in this administration.”
The President also noted that Nigeria cannot progress beyond the level and standard of its educational system, adding that ” it is those who acquire the most qualitative education, equipped with requisite skills and training, and empowered with practical knowhow, that are leading the rest.”
The retreat was proposed to tackle the challenges in the education sector, as well as come up with strategies to improve quality and access to education.
The President commended the Minister of Education and the entire education family for setting the stage for the national conversation aimed at refocusing the education sector, and said it would not ” only to overcome its numerous challenges, but also strengthen the Ministerial Strategic Plan that has already been developed by the ministry.
The President warned however, that Nigeria cannot afford to continue lagging behind, adding that “education is our launch-pad to a more successful, more productive and more prosperous future.
He assured that the current administration is committed to revitalising the education system and making it more responsive and globally competitive.
“One of the primary roles of education is to build and sustain individual and society’s development. It renews and improves the economic, social, political and cultural aspects of any nation.”
Highlighting the importance of education, the President said education upgrades the living standard of citizens and enables people to become better and more productive citizens.
“It is a human right that a creates a safe, healthy and prosperous society. It changes the visions and perspectives of individuals, enhances critical decisions and improves democracy. Indeed education is paramount and necessary requirement for all-round development.”
“With an estimated 13.2 million children out of school, high illiteracy level, infrastructural deficit and decay, unqualified teachers, and inadequate instructional materials, to mention some of the challenges, we can clearly see the effect of decades of neglect that the education sector has suffered.”
He assured that his administration is determined to turn around the sector for the better.
“We are already making appreciable progress in this respect. This summit must therefore, among other things, sharpen our strategies for addressing the challenges of basic and secondary education, teacher training and professional development; technical and vocational education.”
“My firm belief is that with the calibre of participants at this summit, the road to a better future is before us and we must chart it.
“It is my expectation that at the end of this summit, we shall come up with feasible, implementable but far-reaching action plans for the ministerial strategic plan that would make education play the pivotal role as the engine that drives national prosperity and development.”
“While there are numerous other competing demands and responsibilities from different sectors of the economy, I want to assure you of this administration’s commitment to confronting and tackling the challenges in the education sector. This will be part of our deliberate policy of revitalizing education provisioning and capacity building.”
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
