From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has admitted that quality in Nigeria’s education system is on steady drop, hence the need for drastic reforms to maintain relevance.
He challenged all stakeholders in the education system, particularly the heads of Federal Government Colleges (FGCs) otherwise known as Unity Schools to champion the reforms considering the effect of COVID-19 in the education system.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of principals of the Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs) with the theme, “restructuring our educational system to suit our challenging times”, the Minister reminded the participants that COVID-19 has redefine the way of life, hence the need to re-adjust to the new changes.
Nwajiuba said: “The theme of the event , “Restructuring Our Educational System to suit our challenging times”, is apt, in that it is imperative in ensuring qualitative instructional delivery so as to maximize student performance in conformity with the societal needs.
“This entails that the present system of
education should be modified by reforming learning, curriculum and pedagogy, to keep abreast with modern global practices in education.
“To further achieve the objectives of quality education for all, we need the collective support, co-operation and sincere commitment of all the key players, especially the Principals of the FUCs.”
He confirmed that Government was making concerted efforts to deliver quality education which emphasizes access to quality education, and we are determined to reset our priorities, specify targets, programmes and strategies in other to make a concrete and measurable reality in the education sector.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, in his remarks, challenged the Principals to take the task of moulding the destiny and character of the students seriously, promising that rewards await teachers and principals with outstanding performance.
He told them that the Ministry is waiting for financial release from the Federal Government that would be disbursed to the schools to enable them strengthen their systems against COVID-19.