Rejuvenate primary, secondary education for better varsity education —Don

THE three tiers of government have been urged to focus more attention on the primary and secondary educational systems.

A professor of sociology and former deputy vice chancellor, Academics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Professor Adeyinka Aderinto, made the call last week in Ibadan while delivering the third annual lecture of Abadina College Old Students Association (ACOSA) to mark the school’s 42nd anniversary.

Aderinto, who graduated from Abadina College, in 1983 who spoke on the topic, ‘Secondary Education and Sustainable Development in Nigeria’, said with the present state of secondary education in the country, Nigeria would not be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

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He identified inadequate funding, lack of qualitative teachers, inadequate infrastructure, lack of proper monitoring and dysfunctional primary education as some of the challenges besetting the sector.

He, therefore, called on the government to produce primary and secondary school students as the human agency or drivers needed to achieve and reinforce the SDGs.

In his speech, the chairman on the occasion, a member of the first graduate set of Abadina College, Mr Idowu Ayo, noted that the rot in the educational system was due to the inability of various stakeholders to sustain the standard.

“It is time we looked more inward for practical and affordable solutions,” he added.

Professor Adetunji Kehinde of the Agricultural Economics Department, Osun State University, who is ACOSA national president, said the theme of the event was apt, as there is “a current shift in the paradigm of education in Nigeria from the predominant academic orientation to a blend of academic and vocational.”

The theme of the anniversary was ‘Vocational and Academic Training for All-Round Education Excellence and Sustainable National Development’.

Students entertained the guests with cultural dances and Yoruba poetry rendition, while awards were given to deserving students.