The Enugu State government is taking steps to raise the capacity for quality education at all levels within the state. Inadequate funding and lack of essential facilities have been identified as the key factors for the deteriorating standard of education in Nigeria. The two critical areas are presently getting the attention of government in Enugu State in line with a new zeal to make the state a model learning centre in the country.
A facelift of primary education is a key element of the new engagement in recognition of the need to lay a proper educational foundation for pupils at that level. This is consequent upon Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi administration’s drive to reposition primary school education for enhanced performance. For any measure aimed at addressing the problem of declining quality of education in Nigeria to succeed, it has to necessarily begin at the primary level of education.
To this end, the state government has taken steps to secure World Bank grants for primary school funding. Last week, the state executive council approved the sourcing of a term loan facility of N1.5 billion as counterpart fund needed to enable the state universal basic education board access the world bank grants for the development of primary schools in the state.Primary schools development is a major part of the millennium goals, which is now threatened by lack of funds. The government of Enugu State is determined not to let the problem of funding hinder the attainment of the desired educational quality standard.
The government said its drive to reposition primary schools in the state is to meet the demands of the millennium. The grant being sought is to be applied to renovate some primary schools in the state and procure essential educational facilities. This is a big step forward by the government of Ugwuanyi to ensure grassroots impact of his government in Enugu State. A number of such schools in the state are operating under dilapidated conditions and a facelift of their operating states will be a major accomplishment of government at this time.
The primary school development programme fits into the government’s master plan for the development of education in the state. Last week, Ugwuanyi affirmed the determination of his administration to provide enabling learning environment to enhance teaching and learning at all categories of schools in the state. An integrated approach that lays a good solid foundation at primary school level and ensure high quality rollout of graduates at tertiary levels of education will no doubt provide a way forward from the present crossroads in the nation’s educational sector.
Ugwuanyi inspired confidence in his state’s educational sector last week when he matched action with words that education is one of the main thrusts of his administration. He promised to reconstruct the road leading to Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu to create a decent learning environment and ensure easy movements to and from the school. While speaking at the occasion of the third convocation lecture of the university last week, the governor assured that his administration would continue to support tertiary institutions in the state to nurture quality graduates to actualize socio-economic development of the country. The governor recently unfolded an elaborate programme of entrenching entrepreneurial culture among the youth in the state after graduating from various institutions of higher learning.
This represents a fundamental approach to addressing the problem of high rate of unemployment among university graduates in Nigeria presently and the resulting social evils arising from joblessness. It has become necessary also for universities and other tertiary institutions in the country to take advantage of such government support and take greater responsibility for vocational training of their students. Nigeria’s educational sector is presently begging for a major government intervention and what Ugwuanyi is doing in Enugu State perhaps will perhaps serve to place this important sector on the front burner of national policymaking.
The poor state of education in Nigeria was equally highlighted by Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto State in his lecture at the convocation of Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu last week. Tambuwal, who was represented at the event by Hon. Uzo Azubike, a former member of the House of Representatives, regretted that in the world’s top 800 universities ranking released in July 2015, only one Nigerian University – the University of Ibadan made the list on the 601st position.
By Africa’s ranking of universities, South Africa picks six out of the top 10 positions; Egypt takes two places on the chart while Nigeria and Kenya got one slot each. Nigeria is again lagging behind under the 2015 university web ranking of top 100 universities in Africa. South Africa again picked the first five places on the table and made a total of 18 entries on the list while Nigeria’s best entry was on the 31st position.
Tambuwal considered the state of affairs in the education sector as frightening and wonders whether any Nigerian university can ever make the world’s top 1000 ranking subsequently. This is in view of the absence of the basic requirements for building an excellent academic community. According to him, for any university to aspire to the top, it needs to have some basic requirements such as good quality academic staff, quality educational and recreational facilities and quality students. Good management also must be in place, adequate funding, good governance and leadership are also critically necessary, according to Tambuwal.
The role of government in the development of the education sector is considered of primary importance. How much importance that government places on education determines the quality of educational development attainable. To Tambuwal, even where all the other basics are present, no positive result can be realized in a situation of an inept leadership or bad governance.
To this end, new hopes are being raised by the commitment of Ugwuanyi to take the Enugu State educational development to a new height. If it can happen in Enugu State, it can happen in every state of the federation. Nigeria’s poor ranking in educational standard even within African calls for a greater commitment to the development of education by federal and state governments as well as increased funding of the sector. There is no doubt that education is capital intensive especially at the tertiary level. Funding therefore constitutes a serious challenge to educational development in Nigeria and this was the case even in the peak of government oil revenue.
Tambuwal recalled that statistics from the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown that between 1960 and 2013 that the percentage of total national budget allocation to education ranged from the lowest of 0.53% in 1971 to the highest of 17.59% in 1997 with an annual average of less than7%. He called for increased government funding of the Nigerian tertiary education system in order to return the nation to the winning ways of producing Nobel laureates, intellectual wizards and schools of international repute once again.
Onuoha, a public affairs commentator writes from Enugu.
