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Determined to ensure that things work out properly the way they ought to, the minister of state for education, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has directed every parastatal under his supervision to submit its action plan for the year 2012 on or before December 29th, 2011 for proper scrutiny.
The minister made the remark in his address at the colloquium on education for national transformation; the way forward for the future to mark the home coming of past chairmen of governing boards and executive secretaries of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) on at the council’s centre at Sheda, Abuja.
Wike noted that it will not continue to be business as usual and unless we plan well, we might not make any meaningful headway stated that “I have directed all parastatals I supervise that I want to see their plan of action for 2012 before 29th of December, 2011”.
He lauded the management team of the council for organizing the colloquium and remembering its former board chairmen and executive secretaries who have contributed in one way or the other to make NERDC a success story by saying “You hardly see people remembering people who have laid the foundation. It is encouraging that they are remembered today and when you remember those who have paid their dues, you will equally be remembered when you are no more there at your own time”.
On the introduction of technical and entrepreneurship education into the school system which the executive secretary of the council highlighted as one its numerous achievements, the minister suggested that it is not enough to introduce the courses in schools but the council should go extra mile to train people who would carry on the training as well as establishing vocational training centres for those institutions doing the entrepreneurship studies.
He pledged federal government’s readiness to pursue specific measures to reinvigorate the education sector and enhance their employment generating potentials, including implementing a youth employment safety net programme that includes vocational training, reviewing of curricula to align with industry job requirements and the promotion of entrepreneurship education.
Earlier in his welcome address, the executive secretary of NERDC, Professor Godswill Obioma hinted that the idea of home coming was to break away from the previous path of morbid silence and ingratitude which resulted to ignoring past leaders.
He emphasized that the essence of the colloquium was to invite past leaders of the council so that the present administration would tap from their vast experiences which was why the colloquium was themed ‘Education for National Transformation: The Way of the Future’.
The NERDC boss highlighted some of the achievements of the council to include: restructuring the primary and junior secondary school curriculum and in the process developed the 9-year basic education curriculum; reviewed the senior secondary education curriculum by introducing not only emerging subject such as ICT and civic education as compulsory but also introduced the study of trade subjects and entrepreneurship; prepared the draft 5th edition of the national policy on education which engages with emerging issues in national reform and transformation among other achievements.
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