From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has bemoaned the deplorable state of education and its infrastructure in Nigeria, particularly the public basic education. It also decried poor welfare of teachers who are deeply involved in imparting education and knowledge to the children.
The Union advocated for urgent action that would reverse the trend, making quality education affordable and accessible to the people, while teachers are adequately motivated and rewarded here on earth and not heaven as most people erroneously believe.
The NUT President, Audu Titus Amba, made the demand in Abuja, yesterday, at a one-day capacity building workshop for the state chairmen and secretaries of the Union, which was organised in partnership with Education International (EI) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), under the framework of the global response to privatisation and commercialisation of education project.
Amba expressed concerns over the growing unchecked activities of commercial school operators and other non-state actors which are not in line with the desire of the government and union to provide compulsory quality education for Nigerian children.
“We are also using this opportunity to launch the ‘Go Public! Fund Education’ campaign, which is a global call for adequate funding of education, and the teaching profession, to ensure provision of quality public education for all.
“It is expected that the leadership of the state wings of the Union will, as a follow up, flag-off the ‘Go Public! Fund Education’ campaign in their respective states during the 2024 World Teachers’ Day (WTD) celebration on October 5, 2024.”
He urged participants to use the opportunity provided by the workshop to learn, share ideas and build capacities for better engagement and propagation of the principles and ideals they uphold in the struggles as agents of change and builders of the nation.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Dennis Sinyolo, the Director of EI’s African Regional Office, in his presentation, punctured the argument that private schools were better than public schools, insisting that quality of education and discipline in public schools, as well as legacies, cannot be compared with private schools operations that are profit-driven.
He, however, informed the teachers that technology was reshaping the world, and there was a need for them to embrace the digital transformation, and keep themselves updated so they could remain relevant and not outdated.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tanko Sununu, in his remarks, appreciated the teachers for their great contributions to the development of Nigeria and its people.
He maintained that the government alone cannot fund education, hence the decision to open up the space for private sector investment under strict monitoring and supervision. “No country has succeeded in education without private sector participation.”
He hinted that a brand new curriculum for basic and secondary schools will be launched in a few weeks’ time.
“This new curriculum will address some of the challenges being experienced in our education system. The current curriculum is obviously obsolete, because it lacks the solution to the challenges in the education system.
“The new curriculum was well designed by experts, and it has good coverage of all areas, including technology which has redefined the world using Artificial Intelligence (AI) being the new additions. Chalkboards must be replaced with smart boards, and we are doing that already through the efforts of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) that is currently building 37 Smart Schools across the country.”
