The Deputy Commis
sioner (Technical), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Malam Ibrahim Hassan, has called for the provision of emergency aid to salvage the country’s education sector.
Hassan made the call at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for a grant to the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) and Imo State University in Abuja.
The NAICOM grant covers ICT infrastructure, textbooks, scholarship for Masters, PhD and Doctorate degree programmes
He said that most tertiary institutions in the country were in serious need of assistance to help provide adequate infrastructure.
The commissioner observed that government-owned tertiary institutions were a far cry from what there used to be when they were created and calling on stakeholders to restore their former glory.
“What is happening in the education system today is very pitiable and a thing of regret. I only hope those of you in the academic would put your heads together and be able to add one day to find a lasting solution to the problem.’’
He advised that the private sector be made to invest more in the education sector.
“Even if they cannot provide scholarships, they can provide endowment that will go a long way in building the pitiable infrastructure we see in our universities today.
“These are things we must do to save the lives and future of our upcoming generation,’’ he said.
The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Fola Daniel, said the intervention was part of the commission’s commitment to promoting insurance competence.
“There has always been a section in the insurance act that states that a portion of our income should be devoted to capacity building.
“And that capacity building has been mainly to chartered the Institute of Insurance and West African Insurance College in Liberia.
“But personally, I think we should be doing more to help the local institutes or universities in the country because I believe that if we are not reaching out to institutions within our communities, then we are not fulfilling our mandates.
“So we think we can use the university community as a means to develop insurance manpower and also to entrench insurance culture,’’ he said.
Responding, the Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, thanked the commission for providing the grant to the institution to strengthen its insurance department.
He said the key areas covered by the MoU were fundamental in the growth of the education sector.
“I must congratulate the commission for this foresight because the advanced degrees are the basic ingredients for national development,’’ he said.
The Vice-Chancellor, Imo State University, Prof. Aloysius Awuzie, who was represented by Prof. Ginikanwa Agulana, promised to ensure judicious use of the grant.
“I pledged that we will stick to the agreement in the MoU to help build the manpower and professionals that will further promote the growth of the insurance sector,’’ he said.