FG set to modify Nigeria’s education system

The Federal Government has hinted that the current system of education in Nigeria will be modified by reforming learning, curriculum and pedagogy, to keep abreast with modern global practices in education.

Minister of State for Education, Hon Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, who gave the indication. on Monday. in Abuja, admitted that the nation’s educational sector is faced with a myriad of challenges including poor management/leadership style, inadequate classrooms, indiscipline by staff and students, inadequate number of qualified teachers, inadequate staff welfare, poor academic performance, inadequate funding resulting to dilapidated furniture and unfinished projects among others.

He spoke on the occasion of the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Principals of Federal Unity Colleges (FUCS), with the theme, “Restructuring Our Educational System to suit our challenging times.”

He described the theme of the AGM as apt, in that it was imperative in ensuring qualitative instructional delivery so as to maximize student performance in conformity with societal needs.

The Minister said the AGM is an event that provides the participants who are the Principals of the 110 Federal Government Colleges, the opportunity to take stock of activities in the Unity Colleges and share best practices.

While reaffirming the commitment of the Federal Government towards reforming the educational system, Nwajiuba, said the government was making concerted efforts to deliver quality education in line with the President Muhammadu Buhari’ 9-Point Agenda, he noted emphasises on access to quality education.

“Easy access to quality education for all is on course and we are determined to reset our priorities, specify our targets, programmes and strategies in other to make this a concrete and measurable reality in the education sector.

“To further achieve the objectives of quality education for all, we need the collective support, co-operation and sincere commitment of all the key players, especially you the Principals of the FUCs.

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“At this juncture, I wish to commend the Federal Government for the establishment of six (6) more Federal Science and Technical Colleges (FSTCS) in the Country. These Colleges will go a long way in promoting the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills for self-reliance,” he said.

He challenged the Principals to brace up to their responsibilities and return the colleges as centres of excellence which was the vision of the founding fathers.

“You owe it as a duty to teach and nurture these children to achieve expected behaviour despite the challenges facing the educational system,” he said.

The Minister reminded them that they were the face of the Federal Ministry of Education in the states and that it was imperative that “you always act in such a way that the Ministry is not brought to disrepute.”

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Arc. Sonny Echono, charged the Principals to embrace technology in teaching and learning, noting that all of them would be assessed both in the performance of students, financial management, infrastructure development, procurement processes and above all relationship with teachers.

He urged them to ensure strict compliance with COVID-19 protocols in their various schools, saying the second wave of the pandemic had been virulent and more dangerous.

The Chairperson of Principals of Federal Unity Colleges, Dr Tokunbo Yakubu-Oyinloye, in her welcome address said the nation was in challenging times especially with the advent of COVID-19 which has made a great difference in every aspect of life all over the world.

She noted there was also the explosion of knowledge, the increased spread of social media and the ascendancy of the digital age to grapple with, saying she was glad that many of the Unity schools had to incorporate online teaching methods and e-Learning with the use of ICT into the teaching and learning last year to ensure the students did not lose out during the lockdown caused by the epidemic.

“This was a wake-up call to many of us that in this 21st century we would have to adopt and adapt new ideas and new technologies to be able to provide the best education possible to our students,” she said.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

FG set to modify Nigeria’s education system