The Managing Director of the Guardian Newspaper, Mr. Martins Oloja, has advocated urgent, comprehensive actions that would reposition the nation’s education sector.
Oloja who spoke at the 12th Convocation Lecture of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Oloja said the government should get off the high horse and take concrete action towards resolving the crisis in the educational sector.
In his lecture titled, “Internationalization of University Education for Global Relevance: Experiences, Barriers and Prospects”, the Guest Speaker emphasized the urgent need for concrete actions to address the deteriorating state of education in the country.
He noted that neglecting the crisis would perpetuate inferior education, leading to mass unemployment and a surge in social vices such as armed robbery, prostitution, and drug abuse.
He said, “Without treating the crisis in education as a public health issue that requires serious attention, the youth would continue to receive inferior education. And they will continue to suffer mass unemployment and social vices, such as armed robbery, prostitution, peddling and consumption of illegal drugs could worsen.”
While acknowledging the efforts of university staff unions and concerned stakeholders advocating for adequate funding rather than establishing new universities, Oloja urged leaders to invest robustly in education.
He expressed concern over the “hollow rituals” of funding education without sincere commitment.
Oloja criticized the licensing of new private universities and the federal government’s focus on political projects such as establishing federal universities in all states. He called for a genuine emergency in education, urging a halt to priority projects in favour of substantial investments in education.
He said, “Before it is too late, we must tell our leaders to invest robustly in education. Let’s not be telling them to fund education, which they do haphazardly, and quite often, it turns out to be like what Shakespeare calls a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Our representatives in government should halt the “hollow rituals” called licensing of new private universities and the federal government’s obsession with political projects called federal universities in all the states of the federation.
In his opening remarks, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olugbenga Ige, appreciated the Guest Speaker for accepting to deliver the lecture.
He acknowledged the speaker’s wealth of experience, emphasizing that the insights shared would offer a distinctive perspective, undoubtedly enhancing the comprehension of the lecture’s theme.
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