The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and other stakeholders, called on government at all levels, to make education more accessible to Nigerians for the required literate citizenry.
The call for accessibility and adequate funding of education came to the fore in Abuja during the 4th Convocation ceremony for postgraduate and Higher National Diploma graduands of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies ( NILDS).
Making the Clarion call in his remarks at the ceremony, the Senate President who was represented by the Senate Leader Senator Yahaya Abubakar said since education is the cornerstone for development in any society, accessibility for its acquisition by Nigerians and adequate funding by government at all levels, must be ensured.
The over 10million out of school children is a menace that must be tackled in preventing the consequences of further security challenges in future.
“Yes, the communities must be secured which is being addressed by the government for children to feel safe in going to school but other factors like culture and poverty, must also be addressed, in getting those out of school, back to school”, he said.
Gbajabiamila in his own remarks commended NILDS for the opportunities given to knowledge seekers through their post-graduate, Masters degree and Higher National Diploma courses in conjunction with the University of Benin.
“Education is key as far as development is concerned in any country and must be given the required attention by government at all levels.
“On our part here at the National Assembly, we shall ensure that NILDS move to its permanent site before the end of the current 9th Assembly for enhancement of its research and education programmes,” he said.
In her convocation lecture, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai, who was also the former Education Minister listed poor access to quality education and economic opportunities as part of the factors responsible for the security challenges bedeviling the country.
According to her, out of the over 10million School Children in Nigeria, six million are females with attendant consequences for the Nation because in line with the saying “Educate a woman, build a Nation.”
“The Security Challenge that is threatening the education of girls child is an emergency that must be tackled likewise,” she stressed.
Earlier in his remarks, the Director-General of the Institute, Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, said 112 of the graduands bagged different degrees in postgraduate Master’s degree courses while 18 bagged Higher National Diploma ( HND) in official reporting.
The convocation is the fourth to be organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies in partnership with the University of Benin.
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