This was part of the remarks made on Monday by the Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Modupe Mujota, while delivering the maiden public lecture of the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASCE), Omu-Ijebu, entitled ‘Education Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’.
Mrs Mujota noted that frequent changes in the country’s educational policy formulation and reforms owing to instability on the political environment had done incalculable damage to educational development.
“We need to work towards ensuring stability in our political space in order to facilitate effective implementation of educational policies or develop the political discipline to stick with a plan,” she said.
She particularly emphasized the need to develop the willingness to consider adopting effective policies regardless of the source or era that generated them.
She also made a case for the infusion of the values of traditional African education for self-reliance into the educational policy.
Mrs Mujota also expressed worry over what she described as unbridled proliferation of substandard learning institutions; but more importantly, she emphasized the need for governments to address the issue of effective remuneration for teachers if the country desires a qualitative development in its education.
In his welcome address, the provost of the college, Dr. Lukman Adeola Kiadese, described the choice of the lecture topic as appropriate, and assured all the guests that the “cutting edge ideas and expert opinions” from the lecture would be collated and forward to the state government to aid in policy formulation and implementation.
Dignitaries at the event include the executive secretary of the National College of Education, Professor Bappa-Aliyu Muhammadu; the rector of Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic, Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, Professor Jumoke Bilesanmi Awoderu (who was also the chairman and lead discussant); and the Royal Father of the Day, Oba Mufuta Kasali, the Moye-Geso of Itele.
The event was also enlivened with musical presentations by students of the college’s Faculty of Arts and pupils from the TASCE Staff School.
and then