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Expert Identifies Inhibitors To Quality Education
A professor of Economics of Education, Prof Chinyere Onyemaechi Agabi has expressed fears that the great youthful populations of the Nigerian nation may become a national liability if the content and quality of education are not connected to global trends.
This followed the myriads of challenges confronting the teaching and learning processes in the nation’s education system.
In her inaugural lecture titled “The Dilemma of the Sower In Growing The Desirable Labour Force,” delivered at the Auditorium, Main Campus of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Port Harcourt, last Thursday, Prof Agabi alluded the Nigeria teacher to th e sower in the Biblical Parable of the sower regretting that the teachers were mostly blamed for the issues bedeviling the education sector particularly the turn outs of low facility of graduates.
Agabi identified the dilemma’s/challenges of teachers to include unfriendly work environment, ill-prepared learners constant blaming of teachers for the failures in the system, insufficient resources support, low income achievement prospect and working constantly with mo prospect of education.
Describing teachers as knowledge facilitators Agabi said they are the sower of knowledge and most important resource in education process and stressed the need for an upward review of the education system to create a conducive learning and teaching environment for an enhanced and vibrant national labour force.
In her words “formal education will not produce the desired quality of labour supply for Nigeria’s struggling economy even if the education policy is reviewed a million times without the establishment and maintenance of education environment that guarantees quality of learning for the Nigeria child in public and private schools.”
“The labour force that is desirable in any economy is expected to have the right level and type of education, skill development and desirable personal attributes to ensure high level of productivity”, she said.
Agabi maintained that in developing education as an economic investment, the guest for the production of the desirable labour force that will sustain a developing economy like that of Nigeria should consider the tripartite condition of classifying children who are ready for learning, making relevant institutional resources available and establishing favourable learning environment to achieve quality education.
According to the education expert, the educational provision and development practice existing in today’s Nigeria was inc apable of facilitating the school teachers’ productive engagement in the effort at growing the desirable labour force for the nation’s struggling economy.
Agabi therefore recommends a close synergy between teachers and parents in equipping the learner with basic resources required for effective participation in school activities and government’s intervention by the building of more schools to avoid overcrowding especially in public schools which would automatically crate the need for more professionally trained teachers.
She said, “an upward review of statutory fiscal allocations to education in general and to teacher training institutions in particular is strong recommended. The teaching field should be made more attractive in terms of remuneration so that the best brains can be attracted and retained to facilitate appropriate development of the desired quality continuous supply of indigenous workforce through organised education.
By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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