Abuja – Malam Adamu Adamu, the Minister of Education has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to address the deplorable state of the education sector in the country.
Adamu said this during the presentation of a draft roadmap tagged “Education for Change: A Ministerial Strategic Plan 2016-2019’’ to education stakeholders in Abuja on Monday.
The Minister said that the plan was borne out of a need to radically revamp the sector in order to achieve economic prosperity.
He said: ‘’We undertook the development of this Ministerial Strategic Plan for the Federal Ministry of Education in order to reposition Nigeria’s education sector to play a central role in the philosophy of positive change.
“The result is this draft document designed to reposition the sector and lead to increased prosperity and competitiveness of the nation.’’
Adamu, who said it was the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to address the challenges and salvage the system to return education to the path of excellence, urged them to own and implement the plan.
“No doubt, the successful implementation of any plan requires concerted effort by all levels of government, stakeholders, community leaders, religious leaders, civil society organisations, development partners and the media.’’
The minister said that the strategic plan was built on 10 pillars, based on the core strategic and measurable goals that needed to be attained.
He said they included out-of school children, basic and secondary school education, teacher education, adult literacy and special needs, basic and secondary education curriculum and polity matters.
Others, he added, were technical, vocational education training (TVET), higher education, education data and planning, ICTs in education and library services in education.
According to him the draft plan is a product of collective brainstorming and should be seen as the beginning of a process and not an end.
“It is not complete, rather it is meant to stimulate a robust critique. Through our collective efforts, we can translate this written document to become the `change on ground’ that we are all waiting for. ‘’
Adamu said at the end of the critique meeting by all stakeholders a finalised document would be presented to the National Council of Education for approval and endorsement.
In his opening address, Prof. Anthony Anwukah, Minister of State for Education, said the rationale for the meeting was to provide quality education to build and sustain adequate human capital for national development.
Anwukah said this could only be achieved through good planning, appropriate investment of resources, effective collaboration, coordination of inputs, activities of government and all stakeholders.
He said, “I reiterate my confidence that the broad participation of stakeholders in perfecting the draft document assures us of an all inclusive document that will capture the varied perspectives of the sector.
“It is important to say that education for change must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet the needs of their own times.’’
Anuwukah added that the strategic plan, when implemented, would prepare and arm Nigerian youths with the skills they required for challenges of the 21st century.
Rep. Aminu Suleiman, the Chairman, House Committee on Tertiary Education, in his goodwill message, urged stakeholders to critically examine the draft and come up with clear and productive roadmap to improve the sector.
Suleiman also urged the stakeholders to take into cognisance the human capital and the infrastructure component of the draft to bring about a balanced sector.
“If we have a balance in these two areas, it will not only bring about parity but will end the incessant strikes in the sector. ‘’
The Minister of State, Niger Delta, Prof. Claudius Daramola, in his remarks, called on the two Ministers to ensure that only qualified education graduates were allowed to teach in the country.
Daramola said that if the plan was thoroughly criticised, it would bring new life to the education sector.
“Starting from the primary level, you will realise that the system is weak. You see many graduates today who cannot express themselves, so it is garbage in garbage out.
“ These are some of the areas we need to bring in the expected change, ‘’ he said.
Mr Terry Durnnian, Chief of Education Officer, UNICEF, in his remarks, expressed the commitment of the UN to support the strategic plan.
“We want education that is all inclusive for boys and girls and also children with needs in the North-East, so we must plan for them, ‘’he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that a committee was set up by the Ministry in December 2015, made up of experts to come up with a blueprint to address issues and challenges in the education sector in the country.(NAN)
