…Calls for adequate identification of brilliant students with academic excellent
A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Engineer Anselm Ijebor has advocated full involvement of critical stakeholders if the nation’s quest for an improved standard of education is to be realized.
Engineer Ijebor who is the Chairman of the just concluded National Educational Award Programme, made the declaration while speaking with Journalists on the state of the nation’s education on Monday in Abuja.
He argued that no government in any nation of the world could drive its education sector alone without partnering with critical stakeholders in the field hence the need to genuinely involve stakeholders.
According to him, for the nation to make a remarkable breakthrough educationally, critical stakeholders especially those knowledgeable in the sector be allowed the opportunity to drive the sector rather than the involvement of those he described as ‘mediocre’ to decide the direction of the nation’s educational future.
“The country Nigeria has failed to make a remarkable breakthrough in our educational sector because those knowledgeable enough to propel the sector were not allowed to bring their expertise to bear in advancing our nation’s education”.
“There was an urgent need to mobilize citizens, critical stakeholders, and Organized private sector to drive and accelerate academic excellence and contribute to Nigeria’s educational development if we must get it right”, Ijebor declared.
“Personally speaking while tertiary education is important I feel more can be achieved if the students and teachers in primary and secondary schools are properly provided for from the inception of the civil leadership in the country in 1999, the country has suffered more than 10 strikes actions which consequently affects the duration of the school life and education of students in Nigeria”Engr Ijebor lamented.
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. The importance of education to a nation can not be overemphasized, in most parts of the world education is regarded as a fundamental human right. Education is one of the basic criteria to measure the growth and development of any nation.
“Sadly the level, quality and standard of education in Nigeria has witnessed a geometric drop in the past two decades and this unfortunate trend has made Nigeria the leading country of origin of students from Africa migrating to other parts of the world in search of quality education.
The PDP chieftain observed that improvement has been made in the last year of this administration because the team players in the sector have brought innovations into the sector.
“Although, one year after, progress has been made in the education sector, a lot is still required to make their impacts real. However, the Tinubu government’s commitment to ending out-of-school children syndrome and providing enablement is key to driving the inclusive education template.
“The Students Loan scheme is a bold step by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that every eligible child gets quality higher education in Nigeria no matter the circumstances of their birth. Its launch is not only historic but revolutionary. Children who would have been deprived of access to quality tertiary education will surely be availed such opportunities under the Students Loan scheme”, he said.
In order to drive the education sector effectively, Engineer Ijebor called on President Tinubu to delegate his mandate in the sector to those capable, determined and have the required skills to drive the sector with the precision of a pilot.
Ijebor said that NEAP set up to identify brilliant students with high academic achievements at the Senior Secondary School Examination level for immediate scholarships was not only a right step in the right direction but a move that is aimed at mobilizing citizens and the organized private sector to celebrate academic excellence and contribute to the nation’s educational development.
