THE Federal Government has disclosed that plans are underway for the establishment of a National Commission for Secondary Education as an agency to regulate that level of education in the country.
Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who gave this hint on Monday in Abuja while receiving the management and students of Nigerian Tulip International College on courtesy visit, said this was part of the ongoing reforms in the education sector.
The management of the College led by its Managing Director, Mr Orhan Kertim, at the occasion, presented their students and 48 international medals won by them for Nigeria in the last one year-2016/2017 session- to the minister.
Adamu, noted that while National Universities Commission (NUC) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) regulate and intervene in tertiary education, the similar agency in charge basic education which is the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), only intervene in primary and junior secondary schools, leaving out senior secondary level.
He recalled that there was that kind of Commission in charge of Secondary Education a long time ago but was phased out, saying the current administration would revamped it as part of effort to build solid foundation for quality basic and tertiary education in the country.
Fielding questions from newsmen after the courtesy visit, Adamu said: “This administration came on the mantra of change and reform and that is what we are going to do.
“For secondary schools in particular, you know for very long time, there had been a Commission, just like there is Universal Basic Education Commission for primary and junior secondary schools, Tertiary Education Trust Fund for tertiary, this Commission for Secondary Education is going to be revamped,” he said.
While commending the management and students of Nigerian Tulip International College, for doing the country proud with the various laurels won from international competitions, mostly in the area of mathematical sciences, Adamu said Tulip Colleges since coming into Nigeria about 20 years ago have been among the best from Secondary to the Tertiary.
He described the students that won the medals for the country as Nigerian heroes, saying that emphasis now in education should be on science subjects-engineering, technology, and Mathematical sciences.
“I want to urge you to keep up what you have been doing. I assure you that the future of Nigeria rest in your hands,” he said while expressing the readiness of the Ministry of education to support the Tulip Colleges any time.
The Principal of the Nigerian Tulip International College, Nwuazu Omeje, in his remark said the core mandate of the College with branches in Abuja, Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Yobe and Kaduna, was to groom the students to greatness through provision of quality education and good moral upbringing.
He added the Tulip Colleges do not just pay attention to education alone but also the character of the children, saying one could not aspire to any reasonable position in the society without good character.
The Principal disclosed that one unique thing that Tulip Colleges has done was provision of scholarship to the brilliant but indigent students.
He said various mathematical competitions are organised in collaboration with the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja, where the intelligent students from poor background who could not afford the school fees are offered scholarship to study in the Colleges.
“A good number of our students are on scholarship and we don’t discriminate. We go to every state, local government to advertise the competition and the successful ones are brought into the school,” he said.
He added that the main aim of the Tulip Colleges was to complement the effort of the Federal government in providing quality education to the citizenry.
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