A professor of Adult Education at the University of Ibadan, Professor Kehinde Kester, has called for an urgent intervention from the government in the funding of education sector in Nigeria.
Professor Kester stated this on Wednesday at the 2024 valedictory service of the Command Day Secondary School, Ibadan, where he was the guest speaker.
Speaking at the event, Kester said: “I think we have gotten to a critical point in Nigeria, where we need the government’s intervention in terms of finances, basically to fund education in Nigeria.
“The Nigerian public schools are in a serious financial jeopardy; most of the infrastructure is nothing to write home about. The state of public schools is no longer what it used to be in the 70s, 80s and even 90s. So we need the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the Nigerian educational system, focusing on the public education, especially.”
Speaking to the graduating students, he advised that: “This is just the beginning of life; they need to be focused, they need not do anything funny in terms of cutting corners. They need to be very straightforward and careful not to jeopardise their future, because whatever they do now may tell on them in the future.
“Therefore, they must be focused, have vision, and as well have a role model they must tailor their lives after so that tomorrow will be better. They also need one another to leverage up and then they must always remember that their families, especially their parents, are important in their lives.”
In his words, the global president of Command Day Secondary School Alumni Association, Mr Olumide Agboola, emphasised the government’s role in discharging its responsibilities to schools.
He said: “The government has a huge role to play in education, as the essence of education cannot be overemphasised. And so, the government has a huge vacuum in the discharge of the responsibility to schools. To fill up the ICT segment, considering we are in an age where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming into play, serious computer intelligence and advancement in technology, among others, I think the vacuum can be filled.”
While acknowledging the support his association has been giving to the school as a way of back to the school, he charged the students to sustain the relationships they have established while in school and be also ambitious.
Highlight of the event was the presentation of awards, prizes and scholarship by the alumni to teachers and students across all classes.
The event had in attendance representatives of the Nigerian army education corps, the commandant, Oyo State government and a royal father.
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