Tag: Educational Sector

Obaseki Advocates Review Of Edo State Schools’ Curriculum

Obaseki Advocates Review Of Edo State Schools' Curriculum The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, on Tuesday in Benin City, advocated a quick review of the curriculum of schools as a ‘sine qua non’ to having solid educational foundation for “our children in the state”.

Governor Obaseki said this while receiving in audience, the leadership of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), led by its Acting Chairman, Mr Iyalomhe Akhagbemhe.

The governor used the occasion to assure the leadership of the NUT that the state government was working with State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), to fill the 3,000 N-Power vacancies allocated to the state.

He said that government would not only fill the vacancy but would train the teachers and provide them with instructional materials.

He also advised the NUT leadership to think of reviewing the school’s curriculum in the state so that those who pass out from schools would not only be employable but could also become entrepreneurs.

Governor Obaseki equally reiterated his electioneering promise to create 200,000 jobs and noted that teachers also had fundamental roles to play in achieving the feat.

He said the process must begin with the solid foundation for the pupils and students, stressing that it was high time stakeholders began to rethink the purpose of education and the type to be given out.

“But for us, we must begin to think about our curriculum, so that the people we produce from the school system are people who can sustain themselves in life. -So that after JSS, you should be able to do something with your life.

“So it’s time to rethink the purpose of education and the type of education to be given out.

“We are currently working with SUBEB to fill the 3,000 N-Power vacancy given to the state.

Governor Obaseki disclosed that most of the subsidy to the state would be channeled towards vocational and technical education, saying “there is the need to work and ensure that by 2020 our children have skills.

“To do this, we have to train and retrain, hence our focus on technical education.

“We need to have center of excellence to strengthen our teaching call”, he added.

Obaseki, who emphasized that schools supervision was also part of the training, gave the assurance that government would re-jig the school’s management system for the better.

The Governor further stated that the teachers, mostly regarded as those who produce the best brains and the best minds, was the reason his predecessor pursued the policy that saw the upgrade of teachers to the level of permanent secretary.

Earlier, Akhagbemhe advised the governor to ensure he appointed square pegs in square holes to drive his desired developmental stride for the state.

He appealed to the governor for the support of teachers, adding that some of the challenges in the educational sector included the non-payment of leave transport grant for 2016.

Akhagbemhe listed the non-release of promotion since 2012, dearth of teachers as well as non-availability of instructional materials as challenges encountered in most schools.

Ikpeazu Promises To Revamp Educational System In Abia

students2The Governor of Abia state, Okezie Ikpeazu, has promised to revamp the educational system in the state.

He said that “the state would soon notice a complete change and revolution in education, as government has put in place a framework to ensure that model schools spring up in the three senatorial zones”.

He made the commitment while addressing participants at the National Television Authorities (NTA) National Arts, Science and Technology competition ETV (EXPO) 2016.

Receiving the trophy won by the students in the competition, at the Government House, Umuahia, the Governor also gave cash rewards to the students as well as teachers of schools that emerged as winners.

Ikpeazu, Model Schools, Abia The schools which are located in Aba, the commercial centre of Abia State, include Dorothy International college, emerging overall best, with a cash reward of 500,000 Naira, while the first and the second runners –up, Divine College International and Victory International College, were rewarded with 300,000 and 200,000 Naira respectively.

The teachers and NTA crew were equally given 500,000 Naira each.

Governor Ikpeazu expressed joy that “Abia by the victory, has again made a statement in the educational firmament of the country”.

Furthermore, he said, “the greatest strength of the state lies in her human resources, and I think that the state can always work out her destiny.

Ikpeazu, Model Schools, Abia“I want to commend the schools, especially the college, for consistently doing the state proud and I congratulate the teachers and students for their hard work and perseverance.

“Regrettably, Nigeria as a nation has been unable to apply the fallout of research efforts, and this administration cannot afford to ignore the impact of the inventions by the students.

“This government will do everything possible to take the research by these students another step forward to see if it can be replicated commercially,” the Governor added.

Education Standard Has Decreased Despite Money Invested – Ogunsanwo

Babajide Ogunsanwo, Information Anaylst
Information Analyst, Babajide Ogunsanwo

A Data and Information Analyst, Babajide Ogunsanwo, has stressed the need for government to go beyond investing capital in the educational sector for it to grow in Nigeria, as the failure in the sector continues to increase despite the money invested.

This was in view of the result announced by the Chief Executive and Head of the National Office of West African Examination Council, Mr. Charles Eguridu, in which only 31.28 percent of the over 1.7 million candidates that sat for the examination had credits in five subjects, including English and Mathematics, compared to the 36.57 percent in 2013 and 38.81 percent in 2012.

“The failure rate in education has increased, what the evidence shows is that for this trend to change, it goes beyond investing money in the educational sector. But government need to change what they are currently doing in other to boost the educational sector”, Ogunsanwo said.

Speaking on Channels Television’s programme, Sunrise Daily, on Friday, Ogunsanwo stressed that the problem Nigeria was facing in the educational sector was that the government highly underestimated the failure rate and overestimated the possible solution in education in Nigeria.

He noted that most students do not find their inspiration in leaders that speak articulately but with musical artistes by the reason of their followership on Twitter and urged all artistes to educate and encourage their followers on the need for education in Nigeria.

“If artistes start promoting education to their followers, the massive failure would be on a decrease.

“These artistes, actors and actresses need to promote the importance of education in Nigeria, by this, failure will decrease and the educational sector would grow”, he emphasised.

Ogunsanwo also observed that government has not given most secondary schools an incentive to pass their examination, suggesting that the government would need to give cash rewards to student who pass their exams in order to increase their interest in education.

“We have not given a lot of students incentives to pass, so what we have done on one hand was putting a lot of money in the sector and the failure rate still increased.

“Government should start thinking of incentives and consider to give cash rewards for student that pass their examination, create more jobs and an hour paying job to captivate and capture the minds of the Nigerians in education”, he stressed.

Ogunsanwo maintained that once the musical industry; motion pictures, sound and music recording becomes bigger than the educational sector, there would be a serious problem in the educational sector.

 

Progressive Governors Hold Summit To Address Crisis In Education Sector

Progressive ForumConcerned about the escalating insecurity situation in the country coupled with the issues in the educational sector in Nigeria, a group known as Progressive Governors made up of APC governors in the country, has engaged experts to produce a policy design on the crisis in the education sector.

The Summit, held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and themed  Crisis In Nigeria’s Educational Sector: Addressing The Connect Between Unemployment And Insecurity, was attended by education commissioners from states controlled by the APC, education consultants and experts from the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and government officials.

Various PGF consultants analysed issues in the education sector, one of which they said is the UNESCO report that one out of every five Nigerian school child is out of school. One of them, Mr Wale Ajadi, stressed on the level of funding.

Representing the Governor of Rivers State, the SSG George Feyii, said without education no society can achieve its full potential.

In its policy issues, the Forum noted that education is an instrument for national development and governments should show its commitment to the rights of citizens to education and expand various efforts to that direction.