Stakeholders task government, organisations on sector’s growth

Stakeholders have urged government to adopt policies that would move the sector forward as they call for an urgent review.

A Professor at the Institute of Education, University of Ibadan (UI), Adams Onuka called for a formidable, sustainable, non-somersault policy to move the sector forward.

Onuka who spoke at the 2018 Eduskill Fair organised by the International Educational Management Network (IEDUMAN) pointed out that policies from countries like Korea, Finland and England among others could be copied to move the sector forward.

He said: “When these policies are considered, put a team together to work on it, and subsequently, bring the outcome to the public domain for discussion. By the time we work through these and include what is missing from our own contents, I can assure you that we would have a formidable, sustainable, non-somersault policy that will move our education forward.”

Founder and President of IEDUMAN, Dr. Onyeka Jaivbo-Ojigbo, while urging parents to invest more resources and time in the education of their children and society at large, said with the right policies from government, educational institutions would begin to deliver more manpower needed to fully develop the country.

“Parents have crucial roles to play in the advancement of education in this country. They shouldn’t leave it all to teachers. They have to encourage their children to acquire a vocation, that is, learn a skill so they would be useful to themselves even after schooling.

“I have visited several states and see that the governments are trying to improve the standards in the sector but I believe we can do better especially at a national level, to fully get to where we should be.

“We must build the sector to a level where people don’t have to wait for certificates to get jobs. Skills acquisition must be at the core of our education policy because that is the only way we can begin to solve problems of unemployment in the country.”

While stressing the need to accord the sector a priority in the country, Bunmi Omeke, a lawyer at Lekki-based JGC Partners, noted that majority of Nigerians have with one voice called for strict strategies in the sector.

According to her, there is need for collaboration between the government and private educators to forge ahead.

“We blame the government all the time, but the private educators also have cases to answer, how far have we impacted the industry positively, in all sincerity, what is our primary motivation, is it just to make profits? Education has to do with life therefore we all need to do more, Omeke added.