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.