Expert Faults States’ Free Education Claim

The Founder, Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Mr Hassan Soweto has described the claim of free education offered by states in Nigeria as insincere and dishonest.
He said this at the closing of 2018 ERC free holiday coaching lesson organised for students in Ajegunle, and held in Nawair Ud-Deen Primary School, Arumoh Street, Lagos.
At the events which saw the overall best students in all classes receiving gifts and had the presence of Dagga Tolar, a renowned poet and former Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) chairman, Ifelodun-Ajeromi, among other dignitaries.
Soweto said: “The government is being insincere and dishonest when they say they are providing free education under the ‘Education for All’ project that began over a decade ago. In Lagos State website, for instance, the said claim is made.
“But we are here today at Nawair Ud-Deen Primary School, Arumoh Street, where chairs and desks are broken, the windows are hanging, the ceilings are coming down, including the problem of inadequate teachers. This is not free education. So, when we demand free education as activists, we mean education system that is properly funded with materials, well stocked libraries, laboratories and well trained teachers that are adequate.
“This is because the end point of education is to make sure that education is accessible to all and the citizens receive such education that can make them contribute meaningfully to the development of the country,” said Soweto.
On his part, Co-ordination of the lesson, Comrade Fidel Davy said the coaching lesson since inception in 2005, and in its 13th edition, has mentored over 7,000 students was basically ran to call on government to make education free and accessible.
His words: “We are trying to present a position that government should make it a priority to fund public education”.