How President Buhari Can Uplift Education

Although President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to disclose a possible plan of how his administration intends to renew the hurting education sector in the country, hopes are high, and expectations are rising that the administration may address the neglect the sector has suffered.

Buhari had while reiterating his determination to tackle insecurity during his inaugural speech, stated that his government would in the long run improve the standard of education in the country. Specifically, the President said, "For the longer term, we have to improve the standards of our education.

We have to look at the whole field of Medicare. We have to upgrade our dilapidated physical infrastructure." While the nation awaits the much-needed intervention, one of those that believes that in Buhari's capacity to turn things around in the sector is Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Ndufe-Alike, Ebonyi State, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, who said, "I am confident that the leadership of Buhari will reform positively, the education sector.

He suggested the "revamping of the sector with a synergy of all stakeholders at federal, state and local governments," whom he said, should "come into an agreement to work together on quality and maintenance of standards at all levels.

"Science and Technology with Innovation (STI) must be emphasized in the curriculum and the erstwhile ratio of 60:40 for science and humanities should be increased to 70:30 at all levels.” There must be a compulsory and functional training for all teachers at all levels. Teachers' emoluments should be paid promptly and comparable to the best.

A revisit must be made to all institutions especially private at all levels and there must be insistence on quality as a condition for licence retention," the former vice chancellor of University of Lagos Stated.

For Vice Chancellor, Crawford University, Igbesa, Ogun State, Prof. Samson Ayanlaja, "My candid advice to Buhari is to confront headlong, the cabals and saboteurs militating against the functioning of the refineries. And the money that would be realized should be invested in the education sector.

Even if you have all the brilliant ideas and lack the funds to bring your ideas to reality, you have not achieved anything. For any idea to work in the education sector, funds must be available.

"For instance, infrastructures in most Nigerian public schools have all broken down, most of them do not have electricity, and how would you conveniently run education without electricity, without refineries working and without petroleum products being available.

"Everything is related and interwove. All these sectors have to be working perfectly for the education sector to function optimally. So, the president must think of how to free the funds that can now be invested in the education sector. He must also create measures that would ensure adequate management of the fund, so they can be used profitably.

Public funds have been wasted, and the president must stop these leakages." In the view of the Vice Chancellor, Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State and Chairman, Committee of Vice Chancellors and Registrars of Private Universities, Prof. Isaac Adebayo Adeyemi, "There is no doubt, the Nigerian educator sector needs a critical evaluation without a radical departure from the existing system.

The main goal of such an evaluation is to ensure that the products of the sector can compete effectively in the global market. "First and foremost, basic infrastructural facilities like electricity, water, buildings, and roads must be in place.

Secondly, a conducive learning environment is a sine qua non, just as the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in all tiers of learning ranging from primary schools to universities.

The university chief who said that the country was operating within "a knowledge-based economy," maintained that, "both staff and students must be abreast of developments in information technology.

"Thirdly, training and retraining of teaching staff must be a continuous project, which will enable them to be exposed to changes in knowledge impartation and mode of teaching at any level.

The vice chancellor, who regretted that there has been an upsurge in the number of universities (both public and private) in the last five to 10 years, without adequate planning for funding and academic staff," stressed that "most, if not all our universities are understaffed. It is imperative to embark on massive manpower development both within and outside the country."

Adeyemi, who cautioned against placing emphasis only on tertiary education, added that "federal and state governments must revive technical colleges, trade centres, farm settlements and similar institutions that would encourage graduates with relevant skills to fill the vacuum that has been created within the economy.

Such institutions would also assist in reducing employment rate, which is currently extremely high among the youths. "Our research institutes must be affiliated to universities to encourage cross-fertilization of ideas and remove the bureaucracy associated with research institutes as appendages of the relevant ministries," he recommended.

He continued, "Private universities must be assisted to survive and contribute immensely to the desired change in our education sector.

Evidences abound that some private universities, though relatively young, have been making waves nationally and internationally.

They have also demonstrated that 'sanity' can prevail in universities by ensuring uninterrupted academic calendar and a measure of discipline.

"Some of these universities have introduced novel programmes like mechatronics and bio-medical engineering. They should be encouraged by ensuring that they benefit from Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TET Fund) through manpower development, research grants, attendance at conferences and possibly granting of loans at single digit interest rates for infrastructural development. "The treatments for these can be worked out.

This would save Nigeria capital flight to the West world and African countries, where it has been established that a lot of Nigerian students attend unapproved or underrated institutions.

The above propositions could only be achieved through proper funding and judicious use of such funds coupled with implementable strategic plans," he concluded.