29th August, 2017
The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu on Tuesday said that Nigeria could not grow without entrenching a 21st-century education system that was globally competitive.
Adamu said this during a paper presentation at the 4th Lagos Nigerian Institute of Public Relations Stakeholders’ conference in Lagos.
The theme of the paper is Strategies for Revamping Nigeria’s Educational System for National Development.
Adamu, who was represented by the Director, Media, of the Ministry, Mrs. Priscilla Ihuoma, noted that seeing education from this perspective, therefore, called for proper funding from the three tiers of government.
According to him, only such steps are fundamental in making the sector to produce the desired results that will, in turn, stimulate national development.
“No nation can fight a war without an army, in the same way, Nigeria cannot grow without entrenching a 21st-century education system that is globally competitive.
“Education is on the concurrent list and as such its management and administration has a lot to do with interrelationship and interface between the different tiers of governments.
“Therefore, there is a need for synergy and understanding and vibrant regular communication channels between these levels.
“If the recommendations made in this paper are to be implemented effectively, there is the need to put in place, a multi-tier interactive and communication system that will engender collective ownership of educational policies and programmes.
“At the same time, participation in decisions on educational activities or matters among the Federal Ministry of Education, relevant committees of the National Assembly, State Ministries of Education, as well as local education authorities is also a key,” he said.
Adamu also said the issues of educational planning, management and administration, had been clearly articulated by the constitution and most especially the National Policy on Education (NPE).
According to the minister, the choice of the theme, could not have come at a better time than when the country has committed itself to the implementation of the Education 2030 Agenda; The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4.
He said that the major thrust of the SDG4 was to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education as well as promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.