Regina Otokpa 
The Nigerian Academy of Education (NAE) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to hand over all the 115 Federal Government Colleges in the country to the states with comprehensive conditions to run.
This was as the Academy also called on President Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the education sector in order to holistically address the rot and decadence in the system.
NAE President, Prof. Kabiru Isyaku, made the call in his welcome speech at the 38th Annual Congress 2024 with the theme: “Nigerian Education System: Past, Present & Future,” on Wednesday in Abuja.
The event witnessed the induction of 26 new members and the elevation of three deserving members to the Fellowship level. Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was also honoured by the Academy in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of Nigeria.
Lamenting the appalling state of education in Nigeria, Isyaku, suggested the urgent need to declare an emergency in the sector because it affects all other sectors of the nation’s economy.
He revealed that the National Policy on Education was last reviewed over 10 years ago, saying that the declaration of emergency would allow the government to assemble experts for the policy review, and to critically address issues like the status of education in the Constitution, structure, funding, and relevance of the current Curriculum.
He also stressed that issues of evaluation and certification should be addressed comprehensively enough to cover all levels and everything to do with education with all stakeholders be it Local, State, Federal Government, employers, religious and other development partners, since Education is the responsibility of all.
Isyaku observed that currently, there is no synergy between the Federal and State Governments that could enhance the smooth development of education in the country.
He called for adequate remuneration of personnel in educational institutions while ensuring the release of their salaries and other entitlements as and when due.
The NAE President described as aberration the running of primary and secondary schools by the Federal Government, insisted that this does not happen anywhere in the world.
He said: “The Federal Government, at this stage of the country’s development, should not directly run Secondary Schools. Instead, FGN should only be in charge of Policy and Quality Assurance. Thus, all Federal Government Colleges should be devolved to the states with comprehensive conditions.”
The Nigerian Academy of Education condemned the proliferation of educational institutions by Federal and State Governments and called for a moratorium on the establishment of new institutions until the current ones are fully equipped and with adequate personnel as required by the regulatory agencies.
The keynote speaker, Prof. Alhas Maicibi Nok, of the Faculty of Education, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, bemoaned the high level of corruption in the management of educational institutions in the country.
He argued that even though education is faced with the problem of poor funding, the major challenge is the misappropriation of the little resources allocated to the institutions.
Nok raised several posers as to the integrity of those who are appointed to head educational institutions in the country, saying even the appointment of Vice-chancellors is usually characterised by nepotism and other parochial interests.
While speaking on the decline in the quality of teaching and learning in schools, he noted a trend where teachers in most schools teach students for examination instead of teaching for knowledge, adding that this has also fueled sharp practices where marks are no longer earned by students but bought with money or sex for marks among other unwholesome practices.
