Education
Association Urges FG To Salvage Education Sector
Unity Schools Old Stu
dents Association (USOSA) last Wednesday in Abuja called on the Federal Government to salvage the country’s education sector.
Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, an ex-officio member of the USOSA, made the call at a media briefing on the association’s planned October 24 dialogue on “Education, Good Governance and National Unity”.
Odinkalu, who represented the President General of the association, Alhaji Nuhu Koko, said Nigerians were “angry and annoyed because we are failing this generation”.
He advised the government declare a state of emergency in the education sector to address the woes afflicting the sector.
According to him, a situation where citizens could not acquire quality education could jeopardise Nigeria’s dream of attaining Vision 20:2020.
“The responsibility of
tackling the issues bedevilling our education system does not rest on the shoulders of government alone because government, obviously, cannot do enough.
“And these issues are too important for government to deal with alone,” he said.
While calling for private sector participation, Odinkalu said, “we need to federate laws, we need to correct our corrupt system, provide tax incentives and formulate good policies.’’
The don expressed regrets that the present generation of students lacked the opportunity to compete with the best in the world.
“These days the Nigerian child cannot proudly say I was given the opportunity by the state to compete with the best and beat them,” he said.
He said that the protracted ASUU strike must end as smart young people had been kept idle.
Odinkalu said the planned dialogue would explore ways of saving the decaying educational system which he said was threatening the co-existence, national productivity, competitiveness, and national security.
Also speaking, the executive secretary of association, Malam Ahmed Lawal, said the association was convening the dialogue in fulfilment of one of its objectives of providing a platform for promoting and advising on the unity of the Nigerian nation.
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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