Atiku Will Salvage Education Sector As President

Director of Support Groups of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Management Council (PCMC) Dr Baraka Sani, has assured Nigerian students that the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar will improve and strengthen the education sector when voted into power.

Sani stated this in an address to parents and Nigerian students in Kano yesterday. She listed some of the plans Atiku has for the sector and assured parents and students that he will upgrade the educational system of the country.

“One of his plans is to improve and strengthen the educational system, to make it more efficient, accessible and qualitative.

“Atiku will work with states and critical stakeholders to carry out far reaching reforms of the system.

He will develop a knowledge driven economy, one in which the generation and exploitation of knowledge would play a predominant part in the creation of wealth.

“He will promote a system that will endeavour to catch the recipients young at a time when they are receptive to creativity and critical thinking and equip them with education and skills required to be competitive in the new global order, driven by innovation, science and technology to live healthy, productive and meaningful lives.

“He will promote an all-inclusive system, which will carry along our citizens with special needs.

“The Almajiri, the disadvantaged, the gifted and the vulnerable. By protecting the rights of persons living with disability and the existing laws as are implemented. States would be encouraged to adopt the laws. He will promote public private sector partnerships, in order to improve the quality of education at all levels. Unlike other presidential candidates Atiku Abubakar has a roadmap that will navigate this plan to its successful destination,” she said.

She lamented the deterioration of education sector in Nigeria insisting that the sector is losing $2 billion annual spending by parents on their children schooling abroad.

Sani lamented that 47.3 percent of out-of-school children globally are located in Nigeria, adding that about 18.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria is the highest in the world, according to UNICEF Report of 2022.

“This situation makes me think aloud, why do most Nigerians always carry the wrong trophy? As if this is not enough, currently, it is estimated that we have a 50 percent primary school dropout rate, with only 16% secondary school students gaining admission into university per annum.

“At the tertiary level, the story is the same, or even worse! There are an estimated 200,000 university graduates annually and about 140,000 in other tertiary institutions. This means approximately about 3.75 million secondary students cannot fit into the system.

“More than one million sit for Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) annually at the end of the exercise, barely 10 percent of them gain admission. Coupled with the exorbitant school fees, in some instances over 200 percent increase. Currently, our students are about to be compelled to pay yet another exorbitant increment,” she declared.