Tertiary institution lecturers have called on the government to invest, regulate and supervise the education sector properly.
Some of the lecturers spoke in reaction to the International Day of Education, titled, ‘Invest in people, prioritize education,’ which maintained that Nigeria’s education sector would record significant improvement if there were appropriate investment/funding, proper regulation, and supervision by the government and stakeholders.
Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Mr. Anderson Ezeibe, explained that the education sector was backward because Nigeria could not compete globally.
He said, ‘‘The theme is apt and speaks to third world country. We are not improving but going backward. At the basic level of education, 20 million out-of-school children are alarming, it is the population of some countries, and the disruption in the academic calendar by trade unions which is due to government negligence is another. Prioritizing education by the government. Their partnership funds dedicated to these institutions have never gone beyond 8% as to the UN’s 26%. The right level of supervision is not given to the institutions, which is why they are underperforming. A lot of academics are leaving Nigeria. We get reports of qualified competent people leaving Nigeria. We can’t compete on the global stage meaning we are still backward. The government should Invest in the education sector, regulate properly and supervise properly. If you throw in funds and it is not monitored and supervised, it will not make any good yield.’’
In the same vein, a Professor of Religious Studies, at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Jacob Ayantayo, suggested that parents should pay more for education while the best students should be given scholarships.
‘‘We all need to get it right. We expect the government to do everything, but it’s so large the government cannot do it alone. We are not saying the government should leave its responsibilities, but starting with parents, someone will have to pay for education. Parents are still wasting money on birthdays, burials, and other things, such money can be spent on school fees.
‘’By universal ideal, a substantial percentage is to be spent on education. But we are a wasteful nation. Those who went to school free of charge are not serious about education in Nigeria and are taking things for granted. School fees here are low, so students can’t have quality training. Everyone needs to be involved. I will suggest rather than government foot billing, scholarships should be given to students who are very brilliant.
https://punchng.com/lecturers-ask-govt-to-invest-in-education/
