Education
FG Pledges To Improve Access To Quality Educaiton
The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’l in Abuja reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to improving access to quality education.
Rufa’l, who spoke at the presentation of the ministry’s 2010 score card, decried the lack of access and equity in the education sector, describing this as the biggest challenge facing the sector.
“The biggest challenge in the education sector today is undoubtedly the large number of out-of-school children.
“An estimated number of nine million children are out of school at the primary level and six million at the Junior Secondary School level,” she said.
Rufa’l stressed the need to create and expand more universities to cater for the teeming number of students produced at the secondary schools.
She said the Federal Government was not planning to scrap the 6-3-3-4 system of education as speculated in some quarters but to explore how to enhance and make it more effective.
We are not planning to scrap or abolish the 6-3-3-4 system, in fact nobody can scrap it, we cannot destroy the structure, we are just looking at ways to enhance and make it more effective,” she said.
She said the re-introduction of the Junior Secondary School Component into Federal Unity Colleges was part of efforts to enhance the 6-3-3-4 system and create more access to basic education.
The minister called on stakeholders to show greater commitment to achieving the Education for All initiative and the MDGs.
In a similar development, the minister launched and distributed operational vehicles and copies of quality assurance handbooks to inspectorate offices nationwide.
The vehicles were released to 20 states with a promise that the remaining states would be catered for in 2011.
The benefiting states included Benue, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Lagos, Ondo, Oyo and Ogun.
The minister also called for better quality assurance, monitoring and assessment while canvassing the judicious use of the vehicles.
A professor of Highway Engineering at the Rivers State University (RSU), Prof. Emmanuel Osilemme Ekwulo, has identified poor designs, inadequate materials, insufficient testing, and lack of accountability as major obstacles to the success of highway construction projects in the country.
Ekwulo made this remark in Port Harcourt last Wednesday during the 128th inaugural lecture series of the university, where he presented a lecture titled “Removing Roadblocks: Rebuilding a Foundation for Reliable Highway Pavement Infrastructure.”
The university don lamented the consistent premature failures of road construction projects nationwide, despite huge investments by the government at all levels, attributing the problem to neglected basics and systemic principles in the industry.
According to him, rebuilding the foundation technically, institutionally, and ethically is crucial to building strong and lasting pavements.
Ekwulo emphasized the need for political will, professional integrity, and commitment to engineering excellence to overcome the challenges.
“The metaphoric roadblocks are those challenges causing premature failures,” Ekwulo said, adding that identifying and addressing these roadblocks is key to rebuilding the nation’s highways.
He recommended that institutions involved in road design and construction adopt a mechanistic-empirical design approach, and develop a comprehensive framework for implementing the Nigerian Imperial and Mechanistic Pavement Design System (NEMPADS) approach.
Ekwulo also advocated for mandatory traffic load analysis, strengthened university-industry collaboration, and funding for applied pavement research.
Corruption, he noted, is a major challenge in the profession, saying severe punitive measures are needed to curb shabby practices leading to premature road failures.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, described Ekwulo’s lecture as interesting and intriguing, highlighting the importance of implementing solutions to Nigeria’s highway challenges.
The Vice Chancellor also described Ekwulo’s proposals as practical and applicable to government and industry stakeholders.
He said the university is committed to research aligned with national development goals, referencing its NDV-12 responsive consortium production framework.
Zeb-Obipi noted that Ekwulo’s recommendations are timely and solution-driven, and will contribute to addressing Nigeria’s highway challenges.
Akujobi Amadi
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