Lagos – The Federal Government says it has initiated intervention programmes that will up skill teachers with right tools to deliver quality education.
Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, the Minister of State for Education, made this known at the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) October Meeting in Lagos.
Theme of the meeting was: “Investment Opportunities in the Nigerian Educational Sector.”
Nwajiuba, represented by Muna Onuzo, Special Assistant to the Minister of Strategy, Planning and Development, said that the intervention programmes was to ensure that the education sector was investment ready and at par with international standards.
He said that the ministry had identified a 10-point agenda as part of its Ministerial Strategic Plan (MSP) 2020, that would ensure that Nigeria sees remarkable improvement in its education sector.
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The minister said that some of the plan revolves around: reduction of out-of-school children; adult literacy; quality teacher development and engagement; expanded science, technical and vocational education, among others.
“This MSP 2020 agenda is in line with the vision of the Federal Government to make education and educationist an appealing profession and an industry that is investor worthy,” he said.
Nwajiuba added that a sustainable process of monitoring and evaluation would deliver this agenda.
According to him, government has liberalised education and is poised to licence more private universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education.
“This opportunity has created an enabling investment-ready environment for new investors to come and invest in the education sector.
“Education is gold to any economy and teachers are the workmen who mine and refine this treasure.
“In today’s highly integrated digital world, teachers are expected to be digitally complaint to enable them to impact the same knowledge to the young children under their care,” he said.
Nwajiuba said government intends to change the nation’s education narrative by prioritising Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) training for teachers as a critical tool in National ICT education.
“This new approach starts with upgrading the teachers and then the Training Institutes and Colleges of Education to world-class ICT training centres.
“This training will take care of the ICT skills need of all new teachers being churned out into the education sector by these centres of education,” he said.
The minister said that efforts was ongoing to link university research with the industrial sector so that research findings could be commercialised to create jobs.
“This partnership will elevate the ranking of our tertiary institutions, attract research grants that will support scientific breakthroughs in health, agriculture and technology.
” It will also encourage international partnerships with other universities in research and development,” he said.
Nwajiuba said that the ministry welcomes the support and partnership of the private sector in funding a sustainable and realistic project model to enumerate currently enrolled children, get out-of-school children back to school and increase the retention of those in schools.
Besides, the minister urged the trade unions in the universities to maintain peace and a stable education environment that promotes quality standard of learning, abhors violence and unprofessional conduct.
“As we welcome more private sector-led investors in the Nigerian education sector, the Federal Government is using this opportunity to appeal to university lecturers to shun strike, saying this has severely dented the image of Nigerian higher institutions.
“As a result of this, international students now shun Nigerian universities due to perceived instability in the academic calendar in our universities and dilapidated hostel accommodations,” he said.
Also, Otunba Oluwatoyin Akomolafe, President of NACC, said that education was key to national development and economic transformation of any nation.
Akomolafe said that the goal of the chamber was to see a reformed educational system that would improve the quality and efficiency of the entire value chain of the industry and other sectors. (NAN)
AIO/GOK
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