From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Minister of State for Niger Delta Affiars, Prof. Claudius Daramola has said the state of education in Nigeria is already dead.
The minister, who spoke at the Education Summit organised by Ondo State Government in Akure, yesterday, said for the nation’s education sector to rise again, all stakeholders in the sector must rise to address its problems.
Daramola, who is a professor of Sociology, also decried the poor performance of graduates and added that the situation in the education sector calls for urgent attention.
He said the values of education are gradually being eroded, and stressed the need for teachers to revamp the lost glory of education in all the levels of education in the country.
On his part, Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, expressed worry on what he described as the sorry state of education in the country and the state in particular but assured that his government would do all that is needed to revamp the education sector
He said: “Your presence at this summit is enough indication of patriotism.
“Your zeal depicts the seriousness which you attach to this fundamental problem militating against development.
“Your realistic inputs will be of tremendous assistance to our administration, keenly desirous of charting a new course, with regard to its avowed determination to introduce a purposeful and functional system of training.”
The governor stressed that functional educational system should be able to address specific areas of challenges faced by the society and charged stakeholders in the education sector to consider the conundrum which he said incapacitated the youths rather than empower them.
“It is heart-corroding to note that our state, which was the envy of all other states in the field of education, now parades vestigial relics of that glorious past. Virtually all public schools are in sorry state. No serious society allows such pervasive decadence in its system and expects progress.
“The fact that the government is seen as the main provider of employment for the citizens confirms the state of monumental failure of the current system. The practices associated with the sector cannot lead to real development,” the governor added.