Category: Education

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has expressed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to improve budget meant for education by 25 per cent with the right policies in place.

Mamman said this while declaring open the 2021 and 2022 Nigeria Annual Education Conference (NAEC) in Abuja on Monday.

The theme of the conference is tagged: “Implementation of Education 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Nigeria”.

The minister also pledged his commitment to bridge the gaps between education policy statements and its actualisation outcomes.

He noted that the country had a lot of good policies on what was required to do in the best interest of the nation but that those policies were not bringing values to the sector.

“President Tinubu has directed the return of the 10.5million out-of-school children to school at the expiration of his tenure.

“We still have a long way to go. We are not matching the children in the country with the desired education and this is because our policies are not producing the values we need.

“What we need is the action on ground and not the policy declaration. This is where I can tell you we intend to come in.

“We want to bridge the gaps between policy statements and actualisation of outcomes.

“This is to give them future training that will enable them to live their lives and make them employers of labour. Everybody deserves to live a life of dignity for the well-being of their family,” he said.

He said that the responsibilities of government was to provide opportunities for Nigerians to be empowered adding that now is the time to make the policies reality.

He also said that the basic and secondary schools must be equipped by developing appropriate skills template for creativity and research.

“We know that society that had benefitted from education are known for nurturing of creativity and research which starts from the lower levels,” he said.

He said there was need for implementation strategies to provide mechanisms for constant monitoring and evaluation of policies, to ensure the SDG goals were achieved.

The minister expressed concern over the state of insecurity in the schools and nation at large, lamenting the recent killing of one Miss Deborah Atanda, a nursing student of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti few days ago.

He, however, directed Vice-Chancellor of the institution, in concerted efforts with the security, to uncover the perpetrators of the killing.

He charged stakeholders to work with the Federal Ministry of Education and agencies as well as State Ministries of education to identify innovative approaches for improved funding and ensuring inclusive equitable, quality education and life-long opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, explained that the 2021 and 2022 edition of the conference could not hold because of COVID-19 recovery which informed its delay till now.

Adejo, represented by the Director, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the ministry, Abubakar Isah, charged stakeholders to deliberate on ways of collaborating and partnership towards actualising the 2030 education agenda.

Also, the Education Adviser, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), James O’Donoghue, pledged UK’s commitment to support Nigeria in actualising the 2030 SDG agenda and to ensure every child receive quality education.

O’Donoghue called on the Nigerian government to ensure increased funding for education while also that the money was utilise for the overall education purpose.

NAN reports that the UN suggested to the federal Government to increase its current budgetary allocation to the education sector from seven to 20 per cent in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4—universal, inclusive and equitable basic education for all school-age children by 2030.

For years, Nigeria’s allocation to the education sector has been below the recommended benchmark for developing nations.

In the 2023 budget, the sector got N1.79 trillion — representing 8.2 per cent of the appropriation bill — according to Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget, and national planning.

Giving a further breakdown, former minister said N103.29 billion was allocated for Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) while transfers to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for infrastructure projects in tertiary institutions is N248.27 billion.

Ahmed added that N470 billion was allocated for tertiary education revitalisation and salary enhancement.

For context, the education sector got the second largest allocation in the budget after defence and security sectors which account for N2.98 trillion — representing 13.4 per cent of the budget.

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) recommended that member nations should earmark four to six per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or 15 to 20 of public expenditure (annual budget) to fund education.

However, UNESCO said “the majority of countries have not yet reached this threshold”.

The 2023 allocation to the sector was an increase from that of last year’s budget which gave education N923.79 billion representing 5.4 per cent of the N17.23trillion budget.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has expressed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to improve budgtet meant for education by 25 per cent with the right policies in place.

Mamman said this while declaring open the 2021 and 2022 Nigeria Annual Education Conference (NAEC) in Abuja on Monday.

The theme of the conference is tagged: “Implementation of Education 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Nigeria”.

The minister also pledged his commitment to bridge the gaps between education policy statements and its actualisation outcomes.

He noted that the country had a lot of good policies on what was required to do in the best interest of the nation but that those policies were not bringing values to the sector.

”President Tinubu has directed the return of the 10.5million out-of-school children to school at the expiration of his tenure.

”We still have a long way to go. We are not matching the children in the country with the desired education and this is because our policies are not producing the values we need.

“What we need is the action on ground and not the policy declaration. This is where I can tell you we intend to come in.

“We want to bridge the gaps between policy statements and actualisation of outcomes.

“This is to give them future training that will enable them to live their lives and make them employers of labour. Everybody deserves to live a life of dignity for the well-being of their family,” he said.

He said that the responsibilities of government was to provide opportunities for Nigerians to be empowered adding that now is the time to make the policies reality.

He also said that the basic and secondary schools must be equipped by developing appropriate skills template for creativity and research.

“We know that society that had benefitted from education are known for nurturing of creativity and research which starts from the lower levels,” he said.

He said there was need for implementation strategies to provide mechanisms for constant monitoring and evaluation of policies, to ensure the SDG goals were achieved.

The minister expressed concern over the state of insecurity in the schools and nation at large, lamenting the recent killing of one Miss Deborah Atanda, a nursing student of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti few days ago.

He, however, directed Vice-Chancellor of the institution, in concerted efforts with the security, to uncover the perpetrators of the killing

He charged stakeholders to work with the Federal Ministry of Education and agencies as well as State Ministries of education to identify innovative approaches for improved funding and ensuring inclusive equitable, quality education and life-long opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretaryof the Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo explained that the 2021 and 2022 edition of the conference could not hold because of COVID-19 recovery which informed its delay till now.

Adejo, represented by the Director, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the ministry, Abubakar Isah, charged stakeholders to deliberate on ways of collaborating and partnership towards actualising the 2030 education agenda.

Also, the Education Adviser, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), James O’Donoghue, pledged UK’s commitment to support Nigeria in actualising the 2030 SDG agenda and to ensure every child receive quality education.

O’Donoghue called on the Nigerian government to ensure increased funding for education while also that the money was utilise for the overall education purpose.

NAN reports that the UN suggested to the federal Government to increase its current budgetary allocation to the education sector from seven to 20 per cent in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4—universal, inclusive and equitable basic education for all school-age children by 2030.

For years, Nigeria’s allocation to the education sector has been below the recommended benchmark for developing nations.

In the 2023 budget, the sector got N1.79 trillion — representing 8.2 per cent of the appropriation bill — according to Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget, and national planning.

Giving a further breakdown, former minister said N103.29 billion was allocated for Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) while transfers to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for infrastructure projects in tertiary institutions is N248.27 billion.

Ahmed added that N470 billion was allocated for tertiary education revitalisation and salary enhancement.

For context, the education sector got the second largest allocation in the budget after defence and security sectors which account for N2.98 trillion — representing 13.4 per cent of the budget.

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) recommended that member nations should earmark four to six per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or 15 to 20 of public expenditure (annual budget) to fund education.

However, UNESCO said “the majority of countries have not yet reached this threshold”.

The 2023 allocation to the sector was an increase from that of last year’s budget which gave education N923.79 billion representing 5.4 per cent of the N17.23 trillion budget.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

President Sahle-Work Zewde emphasized that it is time to learn from the past generation and build better future for the next generation.

Today, fifth of Pagumen was observed as Generation Day in the presence of President Sahle-Work Zewde at Addis Ababa University.

The Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Women and Social Affairs organized the Generation Day.

On the occasion, President Sahle-Work Zewde said everything is built by intergenerational linkages and stated the need to balance the condemnation and praises of the past and present generation.

Every generation has its challenges and successes, and focusing on criticism of the past generation and overpraising of the present generation should be balanced, she added.

The president underscored the necessity of today’s generation to draw lessons from the past generation to improve the future.

We should learn from the past and strive to make the future better by strengthening the link between the generations, she emphasized.

According to the president, the culture of archiving historic accomplishments should be improved to enable the present and future generations draw important lessons and act as required.

We should pass on basic social capital to the next generation, she noted.

The president further said that the tendency of dwindling love this generation shows to the country in contrast to the past generation has to be improved.

Education Minister, Birhanu Nega on his part said that the event is aimed at connecting and sharing experiences among past, present and future generations.

The past generation was more knowledge-seeking, particularly through reading books, he noted, adding however that the mindset was ruined with very narrow framework.

The reading has introduced us with the Marxist-Leninist Ideology where its direct application in the country has caused wars and enormous damages, he observed.

The Ministry of Education is working to improve today’s generation and pass on better things to the next generation, he added.

The government has made decision to mark the six days of Ethiopia’s iconic month of Pagumen with different themes.

Togetherness (unity) Day will also be marked tomorrow, Pagumen 6, the Eve of the Ethiopian New Year, 2016.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The British charity, IA-Foundation has advised the Nigerian government to review its education policy to embrace soft skills, to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

The founder and Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

She said that embracing soft skills was necessary in the education policy of the country for the masses to depend less on white-collar jobs and acquire skills that would make them to overcome the challenges of the current century.

According to her, Nigeria should revamp its education curricula to reflect present day realities and embrace soft skills, entrepreneurial skills and digital know-hows to make youths to survive present day challenges.

Adeagbo noted that colonial legacies in the education sector had left Nigeria rudderless in its education and other developmental aspirations, saying the way forward was for the West African country to overhaul its education policy completely.

She condemned a call attributed to the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye that Nigerian children should be made to get involved in industrial production and urban development of Nigeria.

Kennedy-Ohanenye reportedly made the call on Sept. 8 in Awka, Anambra, while speaking at the Anambra State Summit, staged by the state government to foster development in the state.

Adeagbo, who has been campaigning to have every Nigerian child in school, argued that involving children in industrial production was a clear violation of Nigeria’s Child Rights Act 2003.

She re-stated that Nigeria should put measures in place to take back its 20.2 million children currently out of school back to classrooms, to secure the future of the country.

“I am shocked to hear the suggestion by the minister, calling for children to be involved in production of toothpicks. This is unacceptable.

“We are supposed to be protecting the rights of children in Nigeria in line with the Child Rights Acts 2003 and not propagating suggestions that will subject children to child labour and other forms of activities that will keep them out of classrooms,” Adeagbo said.

She, however, lauded the Federal Government for expressing its commitment to tackle the out-of-school crisis, saying that no Nigerian child deserved to be left uneducated in the 21st century.

“With over 100 children already in school as a result of our work, we will not relent until the last child gets into school,’’ Adeagbo added.

IA-Foundation which was established in 2019 has been active in Nigeria, where it has been campaigning vigorously to ensure that every child, especially the girl-child had access to education.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Kogi governor Yahaya Bello has recorded giant strides across all sectors since he took charge on 27 Jan. 2016, but many analysts believe that his accomplishments in the educational sector remain outstanding.

The analysts, however, say that the feat is not surprising as he had declared, from the onset, that he would pay special attention to that sector ostensibly because the success of other sectors would depend on quality personnel that are products of a sound education.

It is a testimony to such commitment to the sector that Kogi has three state universities – the only state with that feat in the country.

The institutions include Prince Abubakar Audu University (PAAU), Ayingba, Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara and the newly established Kogi State University (KSU), Kabba.

The institutions, one in each senatorial district, are expected to provide opportunities for every Kogi child seeking university education.

Aside the universities, there is the Kogi State Polytechnic and Kogi College of Education both of which are equipped with human and material resources to produce quality graduates.

The state has also established three Model Science Secondary Schools to enhance the teaching of science and technology subjects at an early age.

Of great importance to observers is the quality of structures in the schools with modern teaching and learning aids to ensure that quality is not compromised.

Mr Wemi Jones, education commissioner, recently spoke on government’s special attention to the sector.

“We are working to make Kogi a model in educational growth.

“The governor has made education his number one focus. To demonstrate this, he has increased its annual budgetary allocation from 26 percent to 30 percent which is even beyond UNESCO’s 26 per cent mark.”

He said that a national rating carried out two years ago showed that the commitment of the Bello-led administration in Kogi had shored up the state’s educational rating from an abysmal 33.5 per cent that placed it on the 23rd position in 2012.

“Currently, Kogi is rated as the most educationally advanced state in the North-Central and one of the topmost in the North,” he said.

Indeed, it is to Bello’s credit that all tertiary institutions in Kogi have all their programmes accredited by the various regulatory bodies.

But, perhaps, nothing demonstrates Bello’s commitment to educational growth than the speed with which the third state university came on board.

Many people in Kogi have described it as the Bello magic!

The process began on June 20, when the Kogi State Executive Council approved a memo containing the Bill for the establishment of the institution.

The governor signed the Bill into law on June 23, barely 24 hours after it was passed by the House of Assembly.

Bello had earlier inaugurated the Implementation Committee for the university with Olu Obafemi, a Professor of English Language, as its chairman.

At the inauguration, Bello urged the committee to speed up action toward the immediate commencement of academic activities

The governor said that for fairness, Okun land deserved a university like other senatorial districts who already had one each.

“You are all aware that since the inception of Kabba Province, this has been the dream of our founding fathers,” he said.

To the surprise of everyone, the Kabba varsity got the nod of the National University Commission (NUC) on June 26 as the 62nd state university and the 265th in the country.

NUC boss Abubakar Rasheed, while endorsing the school, pledged full support to its growth

while urging the youths to take full advantage of the institution.

Expectedly, the support for the new university is already coming in torrents with former acting Kogi governor Clarance Olafemi, and Sen Smart Adeyemi commending the governor for the feat they felt was a demonstration of his respect for equity and fairness.

Olafemi described Bello “as a God-sent governor and a fair-minded person”.

Adeyemi stressed that education remained a catalyst for economic development.

“As at the last count, we recorded about 286 professors and about 25 associate professors in Okun, some of whom will be glad to contribute their quota towards the growth of the university.

“It is, therefore, heartwarming that the university is sited in Kabba, the headquarters of Kogi West senatorial district,” Adeyemi said.

Already, the process of recruiting both academic and non-academic staff of the school is ongoing with academic activities scheduled to commence this session, according to Jones.

Gov. Bello has also declared free education in public schools from Primary to the Secondary level beginning from the 2023/2024 academic session. Also free is the registration for all external examinations from primary to secondary schools.

The wonderful offer was announced by the education commissioner on behalf of the governor during the official handing over of computers donated by NNPC and Chevron to some selected schools.

According to Jones, the free education policy of the Kogi government also includes payment of examination fees for students writing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

An excited Jones commended the governor for positioning public schools to compete favourably with their private counterparts.

Another enviable feat is the enactment of Kogi State Education Law 2020 to ease access to education and upscale quality service delivery in both public and private schools.

But, particularly exciting to Kogi residents is the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara that targets massive growth in the number of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates to meet the technological needs of Kogi that has huge deposits of minerals.

Government has also approved the recruitment of 3,979 secondary school teachers with 1,100 already engaged.

According to Bello, the move will solve the problem of manpower gaps in secondary schools.

With these efforts, it is little wonder that Kogi has been rated one of the best in terms of SUBEB projects and programme execution, by various visiting agencies.

It is also to Bello’s credit that State-owned tertiary educational institutions now operate like private institutions as students graduate as and when due without any obstruction by ASUU strikes.

This has been the case since 2016!

To further smoothen academic sessions, Bello took steps to curb cultism in all schools. Drug abuse, hooliganism and other vices that usual slow down academic activities have also been tackled. In many schools now, the vices have either been exterminated or reduced to the barest minimum.

A recent visit to most schools also showed a massive improvement in the quality of hostels with students commending government’s efforts.

The government has also introduced School Adoption and Mentorship Programme (SAMP), an initiative of the education ministry, to encourage mentorship for learners and the restoration of the lost glory of education via the support and contributions of stakeholders.

To support SAMP, the governor, on Nov. 12, 2022, inaugurated the distribution of 11,000 free textbooks to all second year Senior Secondary School students in public schools across the three senatorial districts.

The Chemistry and Physics textbooks were purchased by Alhaji Ahmed Ododo, the former Auditor General of the Local Government Service Commission, who is the flag bearer of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the November 11, Kogi governorship election.

But, as the Bello administration gradually winds up, analysts have continued to wonder if the giant strides in the educational sector shall be sustained.

They equally wonder if successive administrations will build upon the achievements.

Many have said that the only way to sustain the achievements is to vote in Ododo, the APC governorship candidate, who undoubtedly shares Bello’s dream for the state.

Many others also believe that Bello’s wonders in Kogi represent a huge advantage for Ododo as he has been in the thick of all the efforts.

With Bello’s performance attracting many defectors into the APC, it is expected that the new wave will push up Ododo to replace his boss.

Many believe that such is the only way to sustain Bello’s achievements for the ultimate benefit of Kogi State. (NANFeatures)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, has called for collective commitment to protect education from further attacks.

This is as Nigeria commemorates the international day to protect education from attacks.

Sununu was speaking in Abuja on Saturday at an event to celebrate the day with students of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The 2023 theme of the celebration is tagged:”Making schools Safe through the implementation of the Safe School policy.”

He said that by working together, the education sector could be safeguarded thereby ensuring that every learner enjoys right to education in safe and secured environment.

According to him, the theme is essential in order to sensitise relevant education stakeholders that there is guidance for implementation.

He said the commemoration serves as a reminder of the critical need to raise awareness about attacks on learners, teachers and educational institutions, particularly in regions affected by crisis and violence.

He added that there is also the need to safeguard the right to education, which often faces severe disruptions due to ongoing violence and threats.

“The theme serves as a powerful reminder of the pressing need to use the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools (NPSSVFS) and the National Minimum Standards for Safe Schools for its’ operationalisation.

” This is to ensure consistent safety standards across educational institutions for the implementation process.

“The adherence to the policy guidance during implementation will ensure emergency preparedness in case of imminent attacks on learners, educators, and educational institutions nationwide and reduce casualties,” he said.

He said the ministry would leverage on the global commemoration to raise awareness on the existence of the aforementioned implementation documents to ensure effective ways of preventing further attacks and sustain safe and secured learning environments.

He further explained that attacks on education had far-reaching consequences globally on learners’ school attendance, teachers’ stability, the quality of education, economic development and social progress.

He said attacks create an environment of fear, resulting in increased school drop-out rates, diminished enrollment and compromised educational quality.

“We are all aware that the security of students, teachers, and educational infrastructure is paramount for sustainable development in all climes.

“Within Nigeria, we cannot ignore the grave challenges posed to education in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states due to insurgency.

“The heartbreaking attack on FGC, Buni-Yadi, Yobe State, the tragic massacre of 29 students on February 24, 2014, abductions of 276 Chibok girls in April 2014 and the kidnapping of 110 girls from 655, Dapchi in 2018 stand out as poignant examples of the ongoing crisis.

“It is imperative to note that attacks on education have far-reaching implications apart from disrupting the lives of students. It also affects the future development of our nation detrimentally,”he added.

Sununu said the Federal Government government had put in place initiatives for safe learning environments and protection of learners in furtherance of protecting education from attacks and to ensure its continuity even in the face of adversity.

He listed the initiatives to include: the endorsement of Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) and launching of the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI).

Also, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, emphasised the urgency and importance of safeguarding educational institutions while ensuring that they remain sanctuaries of knowledge and growth for the nation’s future generations.

Adejo was represented by the Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the ministry, Abubakar Isah.

He said it is therefore important to focus on the kinetic and non-kinetic means of tackling insecurity in the institutions as as well on psychological safety, especially at the lower levels.

“The importance of such a day is made more significant by the need to address the growing incidences of both physical and the unspoken of psychological and/or emotional attack on education.

“We see the physical attacks having negative impacts on our infrastructure and at other times regrettably loss of lives.

“What we often loose sight of and because it is not easily visible is the psychological and emotional attacks on education.

“This is the most dangerous because it attacks the minds, especially of our young ones,” he said.

He added that the country’s commitment to the safe school policy extends beyond safeguarding physical structures but also encompasses a commitment to promoting a culture of peace and dialogue.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria has had its own share of insecurity, resulting to the abduction of school children, especially in the northern part of the country.

Its impact can be seen in the rate of poverty in the country, increase in the number of internally displaced persons as well as increase in the rate of out-of-school children.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria