The Nigerian Academy of Education, NAE, has urged the Federal Government to handover all 115 Federal Government Colleges to states.
Speaking at the 38th Annual Congress of NAE in Abuja, President of the Academy, Prof Kabiru Isyaku, said the government should attach comprehensive conditions before handing over the schools.
Isyaku also called on the government to declare a state of emergency on the education sector to holistically address the rot and decadence in the system.
According to him, the declaration of emergency would allow government to assemble experts for the policy review, and to critically address issues like status of education in the Constitution, structure, funding, and relevance of the current Curriculum.
Isyaku decried the appalling state of education in Nigeria, stating that the National Policy on Education was last reviewed over 10 years ago.
He added that issues of evaluation and certification should be addressed comprehensively enough to cover all levels and everything to do with education with all stakeholders be it Local, State, Federal Government, employers, religious and other development partners, since Education is the responsibility of all.
The NAE president observed that currently, there is no synergy between the Federal and State Government that could enhance smooth development of education in the country.
He called for adequate remuneration of personnel in educational institutions while ensuring release of their salaries and other entitlements as and when due.
Isyaku described the running of primary and secondary schools by the Federal Government as an aberration, insisting that this does not happen anywhere in the world.
“The Federal Government, at this stage of the country’s development, should not directly run secondary Schools. Instead, FGN should only be in charge of Policy and Quality Assurance. Thus, all Federal Government Colleges should be devolved to the states with comprehensive conditions,” he said.
The Nigerian Academy of Education condemned proliferation of educational institutions by Federal State Governments and called for moratorium on the establishment of new institutions, until the current ones are fully equipped and with adequate personnel as required by the regulatory agencies.
On his part, the keynote speaker, Prof. Alhas Maicibi Nok, of Faculty of Education, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, bemoaned the high level of corruption in management of educational institutions in the country.
He argued that even though education is faced with the problem of poor funding, the major challenge is the misappropriation of the little resources allocated to the institutions.
Nok raised several posers as to the integrity of those who are appointed to head educational institutions in the country, saying even appointment of Vice-chancellors is usually characterised with nepotism and other parochial interests.
