No doubt, education is the bedrock of development in any country. For so long, Nigeria’s education system has been in a shambles. Successive administrations have so neglected the sector that many parents who can afford it now prefer sending their children to schools abroad. Now that there is a new government in the country, it has become imperative to take drastic measures to change the negative narrative.
It is pertinent to note that the immediate past administration worsened our already bastardised education sector. On many occasions, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) went on a long strike to press for some demands. The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) also complained and went on strike on some occasions. In 2020, for instance, the nation’s universities lost one full academic session as members of ASUU embarked on a strike that lasted for nine months. Last year, similar strike crippled the universities for almost a session. Students are now being rushed through their academic work so as to meet up with the lost time.
Essentially, part of the problems is the inability of the Federal Government to fulfill the agreement it reached with ASUU since 2009. Some of the contentious issues include the welfare of academic staff and better funding of public universities. ASUU had asked for the non-implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS). As an alternative, it demanded University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS). It also urged the government to pay outstanding allowances and provide facilities such as well equipped modern libraries and laboratories, hostels, lecture halls and interactive boards.
ASUU also wants the Federal Government to fulfill its promise to inject N1.3 trillion for the revitalization of public universities in six tranches starting from 2013. Government released the first tranche of N200 billion in 2013 but failed to release the rest N220 billion each year for the five subsequent years as agreed. It cited paucity of funds.
This should not be allowed to continue lingering. The new administration must have to engage ASUU and other university unions with a view to finding lasting solutions to their grievances. There is need to review all the agreements the unions reached with the government and begin to implement the ones that can be implemented now. There should be no room for strikes anymore. Higher education comes with some cost. Students should be ready to pay reasonable school fees that will not be too burdensome on parents and not too cheap at the same time. This is because there is need to maintain the facilities in the schools and government cannot do that alone. Quality education demands heavy funding. Hence, government should stop establishing or approving new higher institutions when it cannot fund the existing ones. Most of the 49 federal and 59 state universities have serious infrastructure deficit. Even some of the 111 private universities are glorified secondary schools.
State and local governments have also neglected education. If not for the alternative that private schools provide, our primary and secondary education would have been in a serious mess. Even the private alternative comes at a very high cost which most parents cannot afford. Currently, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) estimates that about 20 million Nigerian children are out of school. Government must provide incentives to attract these children to school. Primary education should remain free and compulsory for all children.
The five per cent average which government devotes to education in its annual budget is grossly inadequate. This should be raised to, at least, 15 per cent to conform to UNESCO’s recommendation that between four and six per cent of GDP and adequate percentage of the annual budgets be spent on education. It will also ensure that adequate facilities are provided in the schools and that the migration of thousands of Nigerian students to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and many other countries, including our less endowed neighbours, for studies is halted or minimised. We must restore the lost confidence in our education system and put a halt to the low ranking of our universities in the world.
In his Renewed Hope 2023 vision document, Tinubu enunciated an education agenda whose motto is: “Enlightened minds, an essential pillar of development.” In the document, he promised to develop new accreditation standards for all institutions, from the primary to the tertiary level. He also promised to develop and implement a modern standard curriculum at all levels of our education. This is aimed at ensuring that our graduates become enterprising and innovative without depending majorly on white-collar jobs. Tinubu should walk his talk. He should not go the way of our past leaders who are tall on promises and short on delivery.