Lawmaker calls for state of emergency in education sector

Senator Gbenga Ashafa represents Lagos East

Senator representing Lagos East, Mr. Gbenga Ashafa, has said a state of emergency needed to be declared on the Nigerian education sector to address the persistent decline in standard urgently.

The lawmaker, who expressed concern that unless this is done with utmost urgency, Nigeria risks being one of the most illiterate populated nations by the year 2050.

In a statement made available to The Guardian, the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker in his contribution to the just concluded education summit held in Abuja said, “It goes without saying that the state of public education in Nigeria is very poor and crying for help. From the primary to the tertiary institutions, public education in Nigeria is failing.”

Citing an inference from the Central Intelligence Agency’s world fact book, Ashafa said the literacy level in Nigeria is just about 59 per cent, which is not too far from the UNESCO’s submission that about 65 million Nigerians are illiterates.

He also said t is also important to note that by 2050, Nigeria would be the third most populous country in the world. Beyond the ratio of population to literacy, is also the issue of quality of education being received. In Kaduna State recently, a competence test conducted for all teachers in the state revealed that 75 per cent of the teachers failed. Never mind that this test was based on curriculum for Primary Four.”

While acknowledging the effort of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in revamping the curricular, Ashafa warned that if the dangerous trend continues at this rate, Nigeria would be looking at a very huge population of illiterates/under literates by year 2050

Although, the senator observed that the effect of such decision might not be popular at first “however this is the bold, proper and conscientious thing to do. We must do right by the judgment of posterity and the future of our common wealth.”

He also suggested the need for Nigeria to adopt contemporary training, teaching methods and instruments being used in the more developed countries to educate the minds of their people. To adopt an experimental approach to teaching and learning as this will allow the students learn better and the teachers impart knowledge more easily.