The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has called on the federal government to bring to end the ongoing privatisation and commercialisation of education in the country, saying that the development was not healthy for the nation’s educational sector.
This is as the union urged governments at all levels to make better investment in education in order to make public schools lucrative, regretting that private schools may cause loss of some educational values.
NUT national president, Comrade Audu Titus Amba, spoke in Port Harcourt, at a one-day workshop on privatisation and commercialisation of education, which was organised by union in partnership with the Education International, EI, Friedrich and STIFTUNG.
Amba stated that there was need for the government to end the era of private schools, adding that education has been turned into commodity only for profit making.
He said: “As we embark on the campaign, we are not unaware of the fact that the country’s National Policy on Education provides for participation of private education providers to complement the efforts of government, but what has become worrisome and unacceptable is the ugly trend where education is turned into a commodity for sale with the motive of making profit, coupled with the glaring failure of public authorities to regulate and monitor the activities of non-state actors in order to protect the right to education of our children through the provision of adequate funding and investment in quality public education.
“I wish to specially acknowledge at this juncture the importance of education as a veritable instrument for human capital development and pivot of national development.
“Our country, Nigeria cannot afford to mortgage the future of our children and youths by failing to accord the education sector it pride of place in the nation’s development agenda. We must brace up as a country to ensure the provision of free and qualitative public education.
The NUT national president demanded for an improved budgetary allocation for education, adding that improvement on the environment and learning facilities in the public schools would bring an end to existence of private schools.
In his speech, African Director of Education International, African Regional Office, Ghana, Dr. Dennis Sinyolo, said public schools are sustainable because they cater for the needs of everybody irrespective of gender, social class of ethnicity.
Sinyolo stated that in many countries public schools are free, adding that private school are there for profit making from parents and Communities.
He said: “Private school are there for profit making, that is why we challenge the commercialisation and Privatisation of education, because we want equal opportunity for everyone, including the most marginalised.”
“Why we have private schools is that the government of Nigeria is not investing sufficiently in education. For example, internationally through the united nations, Nations agreed to invest at least 20% of their national budget on education, but the government of Nigeria is investing less than 10%.
Sinyolo regretted that Nigeria is the least country in Africa in terms of investment in education, adding that private schools were flourishing because the government lacked the will to make meaningful investment in the education sector.
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