Education, most powerful weapon to change our world- Jimi Agbaje

The gubernatorial candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State in the 2015 general election, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has disclosed that the more Nigerian governments continue to allow mediocrity in the education system, the more standard continues to fall.

He said this at the 8th Total School Support Seminar/Exhibition (TOSSE) organised by EDUMARK Education consulting firm in Lagos recently where he was the special guest of honour.

Quoting the late Nelson Mandela, Agbaje said @Education is the Most Powerful Weapon to Change the World@. He stressed the need for government to take education serious in turning things around for the country.

According to him, there are so many out of school children and this is creating danger for the country, adding that people do not need to go abroad to get education as all that government needs do is to increase access to education.

‘’There is need for government to empower teachers and train them so that they can build children that will be better prepared for tomorrow. What is missing in our education is creativity which is as important as literacy. It is a whole new world, education today is about producing creative thinkers because there is no more white collar job’’, he said.

He said private schools are trying their best to maintain standard in the system but if the public sector is not catching up with such standard, then there will be problem in the system.

Chief Executive of EDUMARK, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde, in her welcome address, said there is no country that wants to develop without having interest in the education sector, adding that the  theme for this year’s programme, ‘’Creating Successful Partnerships in Education,’’ is all about maintaining standard of education.

She advised that areas that government need to look into in order to bring transformation to the system include upgrading of infrastructure in the school system, teachers’ training and motivation, safety in schools as well  as technology which she claimed has redefined the way people do business and the way children learn.

‘’Government should be able to articulate and pursue its vision for education. There is a huge gap between our public and private institutions and that gap needs to be bridged to some extent if we are to make progress as a nation,” she said.

Lagos State Deputy Governor, who also doubles as the Commissioner for Education, Dr. (Mrs.) Idiat Adebule, represented by Tutor General/Permanent Secretary Education District II, Mrs. Magret Solarin, urged participants to continue to pay their taxes as that is the major avenue government can generate money to raise the standard of education in the state.