BY GBOYEGA AKINSANMI
A former Minister of Education, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, Tuesday accused some governors of diverting funds meant for hiring teachers under the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme to hire thugs and praise singers for the prosecution of the 2007 general election.
She also disclosed that no fewer than two million graduates and youths annually joined the country's labour market, noting that the growing number of jobless youths "constitutes daunting challenge to Nigeria's integrity."
Ezekwesili, who was also Vice-President of the World Bank (African Region), gave a sordid diagnosis of the country's education sector at the third Lagos State Education Summit, held in Lagos.
The summit, with the theme: "Qualitative Education in Lagos State: Raising the Standard", attracted stakeholders, including Governor Babatunde Fashola; a former deputy governor, Mrs. Adebisi Sosan; Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, and tutors-general across the state's education districts, among others.
Ezekwesili told the gathering how the absence of analysis, data and research contributed to the falling standard of education in the country, citing a case of how the Department of Research and Statistics in the Ministry of Education was turned into contract-awarding department before her appointment.
She reeled out the data of the country's falling standard of education at the time she was minister, noting that enrolment "was low; quality of education below the standard; schools were not well-managed; and it displayed wide inequity in terms of gender enrolment, though differed across the states".
She also explained another disturbing episode, which she said, occurred in 2006 when the UBE was launched, saying some governors used the funds earmarked for recruiting teachers under the UBE scheme to hire thugs and praise singers.
She said when the UBE was launched "to increase access to basic education, there was demand for more teachers in all states of the federation. The federal government responded to the challenges by providing funds for recruiting more qualified teachers. At the end, some state governors used the fund to recruit praise singers and thugs during the electioneering in 2007".
She further provided details about the country's falling education profile, saying Nigeria "accounts for 6 million out of 36 million school girls that lack primary education worldwide. There are about 56 million illiterates in Nigeria. Primary school completion rate ranges between 2 percent to 92 percent depending on the state".
Ezekwesili described the issue of bureaucracy as a major hindrance to raising the standard of education in the country, expressing concerns, for instance, about the overwhelming power of the education minister with respect to decision-making at the unity schools, which she said, was the practice before her appointment.
The former minister explained how she found out that 96 percent of the capital expenditure appropriated for the unity schools went into the construction of fences and toilets, among others.
She therefore called for intensive, increased and meaningful efforts at developing public schools, showing data that more than 65 percent of Nigerians still depend on publicly funded secondary education while about 75 percent depend on publicly funded primary education.
She also called for the need to dignify the teaching profession, citing the example of Finland, which she said, often retains the top 10 of its graduates in the profession contrary to the United States, which retains the bottom 30 of its graduates in the profession.
She canvassed for robust participation of the private sector in education, adding that the most well-intended government in the world "cannot deliver qualitative education all alone."
She therefore urged the private sector, parents and the entire society to join hands with the state government in revamping the education sector.
Also speaking at the summit, Fashola acknowledged that the state government owed a duty to provide better education to those who could not afford private education, noting that the time for hard work "is now".
The governor who explained how the search for improved education took him to India, urged teachers in the employment of the state "to take their jobs serious".
If we do not do what we are doing, we will not have stable electricity. It is the scientists and technologists that can help to generate education. We are not fighting war," he added.
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