By Ahmed Idris
The National Economic Council (NEC) has called on the governors of the 36 states of the federation and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to declare state of emergency in the education sector.
Briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the monthly NEC meeting which was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Deputy Governor of Edo state, Mr. Philip Shaibu, said the council’s decision was sequel to the consideration of an interim report of an ad-hoc committee on the National Education Policy, Prospects, Challenges and Way Forward of the education sector.
“The Committee observed that a multi-frontal approach is required to tackle the various factors militating against the achievement of the nation’s educational objectives, in view of the multi-dimensional nature of the crisis in the education sector.
“The committee strongly recommends that; the Federal Government, States and Local Governments collaborate to vigorously implement, and sustain action on the 10 pillars of the Ministerial Strategic Plan developed by the Federal Ministry of Education. All governors to declare a state of emergency in the education sectors of their respective states and demonstrate their commitment to revamping education,’’ he said.
He said the areas of attention include the issue of out-of-school children, promoting adult literacy and special needs education, reviving Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
He said other areas are strengthening basic education, prioritising teacher education, capacity building and professional development, ensuring quality and access in tertiary education, promoting ICT in education and boosting library services in education.
”It’s not going to be one of those documents that will be kept aside, and we are all unanimous in addressing it and all the states have agreed on this,” he said.
He said the council has also resolved that the federal and governments would allocate a minimum of 15 percent of their budgets to education in order to reform the sector.
He said a Special Task Force would be constituted to manage the funds and oversee the infrastructural overhaul of selected schools for intervention across the federation.
Shaibu also disclosed that the Statistician-General of the federation presented to the council the States Gross Domestic Computation (SGDP) which provides sizes of the economy in each of the 36 States.
“How much do a Nigerian state contribute to the Nigerian economy, what sector is best to invest in a particular State, what are the key sectors that can drive growth, create employment and generate tax revenuee for the states, and which sector need government intervention or support,’’ he said.
