THE Federal Government has reaffirmed commitment to the ongoing process of transformation of the education system to guarantee access to quality and equitable education for all Nigerians.
Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, who gave this assurance in Abuja, disclosed that this process has been adequately captured in the Roadmap for the Nigerian Education sector, developed by the Federal Ministry of Education under his watch.
He noted that the current administration, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, recognises education as one of the key pillars through which the country could achieve national development, create more jobs and ensure self-empowerment.
He said President Tinubu in particular, expressed his commitment to improve the conditions of the institutions by giving education a priority status.
Mamman said: “In line with Mr President’s vision, the Federal Ministry of Education, under my leadership, has developed a Roadmap for the Nigerian Education sector which emphasises the transformation of the system to guarantee access to quality and equitable education by all Nigerians.
“The President believes that we must strive to make higher education accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic background.
“The Government’s mantra of ‘Education for Renewed Hope’ prioritises tertiary education and student support services. With the increasing demand of an average of two million Nigerians youths seeking admission to tertiary Institutions, annually, our target is to provide them with equal access to affordable quality tertiary education, including technical and vocational studies, in line with UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4),” he stated.
The Minister said the Ministry of Education has commenced implementation of its core transformative programme which include: Data Repository, Out-of- School Children Education; Teachers Training and Development; and Skills Development and digitalisation (DOTS), as generally outlined in the approved 23 Ministerial Deliverables and the Education Roadmap.
“Countries (including India) have leveraged on technology, and have successfully initiated the techniques of keeping detailed track of the data of over 260 million students,” he said.
According to him, accurate data is vital to informed decision-making, resource allocation, research, and strategic planning in our education sector.
“It is for this reason that DOTS, which seeks to address the learning crisis in our educational system and unemployment in the country, is being implemented as a service-wide policy, aimed at attaining our goals in the sector.
“In addition, this strategy will help the ministry attain reliable, verifiable, and authentic data that are essential for interventions by Government and International development partners.
“Pursuant to this the ministry has reached an advanced stage in preparations to carry out a complete census of all schools, teachers, and students at all levels of education in Nigeria.
“Data generated from this census exercise will, no doubt, guide the Government on matters of gender ratio, specific learning needs, allocation of resources, progress monitoring, etc.
“The teachers will be fully supported as professionals to ensure they drive the process with happiness. Similarly, the days are gone when students graduate at any level with bare certificates and no skills.
“Now, the education sector from primary to tertiary level will be infused with various skills. This programme is intended to commence from the 2024 school year,” he added.
Read Also: Why we’re establishing livestock ministry — FG
and then