The Obafemi Awolowo University Muslims Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA) has called for a change of attitude towards vocational education while also making a case for increased funding of the education sector by the government in line with global best practice as recommended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The call was made in Abuja on Saturday at the 2nd UNIFEMGA National Education Summit with the theme, “Nigeria’s Education Sector: Transforming into the 21st Century with Content, Quality and Global Recognition”. Three papers were presented at the occasion and they are; The Content, Quality and Relevance of Technical and Vocational Education Curricular For Nigeria’s Industrial and Economic Growth by Mallam Husaini Mohammed, The Challenges of Funding Nigeria’s Education Sector for Citizens Affordability-Solution Options by Alhaji Ahmed Popoola and Creating and Sustaining A Qualitative Pool of Education Sector Professionals-Solution Options by Professor Musa Aibinu of Federal University of Technology, Minna.
The summit which attracted delegates from all the state branches of the association, education policy makers, school owners, teachers, students and other critical stakeholders noted that for the attainment of the overall development of the country, its educational system must be such that would lead to self-reliance and relevant to the needs of the society.
In a communiqué jointly signed by the Alhaji Abdul Ganiyy Oladokun, chairman UNIFEMGA Abuja chapter and Alhaji AbdulBasit Bolaji Bakare, chairman Local Organizing Committee ( LOC) of the summit, the participants therefore emphasized the need to encourage and promote technical and vocational education.
The Summit calls for the speedy implementation of the policy stipulating the establishment of vocational centres in all local government areas across the country. It noted with dismay that technical and vocational education has since the colonial era consistently suffered from low status in terms of poor enrolment by students, low funding by government, low ratings of products by employers and the society.
The Summit consequently underscores the need for a change of attitude by government at all levels, parents and their wards and the general citizenry so that Nigeria would attain the much needed economic development and self-reliance. It noted the importance of religious knowledge as a bedrock to building a moral upright and God-fearing society. It thus frowns at the current attempt to either do away with it or make it an adjunct of other subjects in our education curriculum and calls of government to ensure that Islamic Knowledge and its equivalents are thought in Nigerian schools as autonomous subjects.
The Communiqué further stated that “Since education is a necessary condition to combat ignorance and poverty, the Summit resolved and recommended that no Nigerian child should be excluded from being educated on account of the inability of his/her parent to pay. As such, there should be political commitment on the part of government to provide free education for the children of the poor, especially in the rural areas.
“While parents must also be involved in the funding of the education of their wards, the Summit called on government to do away with the current practice of allocating huge sums of money to fund ‘Unity Schools’ largely populated children of the rich and the privileged who can conveniently pay fees while public schools attended by children of the poor are neglected and left in a state of dilapidation. The practice is akin to the poor funding the education of the rich while it should be the other way round.
“The Summit calls on government to adequately fund the education sector in line with global standard and ensure that funds allocated are judiciously spent. The Summit also calls for better remuneration for teachers in order to attract and retain the services of quality and highly qualified professionals in the field of education. It equally made a strong case for the institutionalisation of mentoring in our educational system to attain greater heights.”
In their earlier remarks, Professor Abdul Wahab Egbewole and Alhaji Abdul Ganiyy Oladokun, the national president and Abuja chapter chairman of UNIFEMGA respectively said the association through the summit is committed to contribute its quota to the noble cause of building a sustainable and effective educational system for Nigeria.
