30th July, 2017
Credit: Atlanta Black Star
Mr Jonathan Mbaakaa, Director, Basic and Secondary Education, Federal Ministry of Education, on Sunday called on parents and other members of the society to improve on their parenting roles.
Mbaakaa spoke on the sideline of the 9th Valedictory Service of the Federal Science and Technical College, (FSTC) Yaba, on Sunday in Lagos.
He said that better parenting was necessary to bring up children with the right values needed in moving the country forward.
“Today, we are graduating these young ones who will be the country’s leaders tomorrow.
“We all know how important the role of parents and even the society is when it comes to raising or bringing up a child.
“I believe that the society at large too and the school also have a big role to play in bringing up a child.
“But the truth of the matter is that these days, society no longer does what it ought to do to impact positively on the lives of our children.
“When we were growing up, everybody around, apart from the parents, helped to train just any child.
“But today, children are left at the mercy of either their homes or the schools.
“We must collectively as a society ensure that children are given the right morals and societal values in order for us to achieve the country of our dream,” he said.
Mbaakaa also spoke on the need for students to pay more attention to skills acquisition and technical education.
“The only way to a sustained future, both as individuals and collectively as a nation, is by getting serious with technical training and vocational education
“I have just told the graduating students, especially those of them that are technically inclined, that the sky will not even be their limit but the starting point with what they have acquired here.
“This is because they have the academic qualification and the requisite skills in the various trade subjects.
“They stand a better chance if they choose to practise what they have learnt because we are no longer in that era where one will sit down and fold his or her hands and wait for white collar jobs.
“That era is over as we are in a dispensation where we must strive to do something for ourselves and possibly be employers of labour,” he said.
The Principal of the College, Rev. Chris Ugorji, said that the achievements of the college and the discipline instilled in the children had changed the psyche of the parents and the general public.
Ugorji said when he got to the college in 2014, he discovered that a lot of things were wrong.
He noted that with diligence, hard work, discipline and commitment, his management was able to change the mindset of the students as well as public perception about the college.
According to him, the school has now become a college to beat in competitions, as it excels in academics.
“Since I took over as principal of this college, we have consistently won the overall best results in NABTEB and other examinations out of the 104 Unity Colleges nationwide for the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 academic sessions,’’ he said.
The principal, however, said the institution remained work in progress, assuring that the various facilities on ground, coupled with the kind of overhaul already done, would continue to drive excellence.
Ugorji, who retires from service in November, said that government had done a lot in upgrading the general facilities of the college.
He, however, pleaded with the government to intensify efforts in improving the state of the various workshops in the college.