Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has bemoaned the rising lack of problem solving and critical thinking skills among high school leavers and adults in the state.

Speaking at a two-day education summit with the theme “Leapfrogging Education in Delta State,” which was meant to fashion out ways of implementing educational policies/reforms with the overall purpose of turning out products that are capable of competing and excelling in an increasingly competitive global economy, the governor said, “Too many of our high school leavers and adults do not possess the knowledge and critical thinking skills required for the technically complex jobs of the 21st century. Our nation is thus confronted with a paradox.

“While millions of young people are roaming the streets in search of employment, thousands of skilled, technical jobs are begging to be filled in many companies and even in some government agencies. Employers simply cannot find workers with the skill set that these jobs require,” he stated.

He said the state aims to provide the best education available for every student, emphasising that with strong emphasis on science, vocational and technical education, his administration hopes to harness the power of technology to empower the children with rigorous, high quality, customised education necessary for them to thrive in today’s dynamic marketplace.

Okowa admitted that there were challenges of the ever-expanding education budget amid the deepest downturns in the economy that the state has experienced in recent times adding: “It has, therefore, become extremely important for all the three tiers of government to engage in aggressive and accelerated internal revenue generation drive. But that process, as you can imagine, will take some time to yield the desired dividends. Meanwhile, we have to build new schools, equip existing ones, accelerate digital learning, attract and retain competent teachers, and enhance the overall learning climate in our schools. That is the dilemma that we face at the moment, and I sincerely hope this Summit will proffer innovative approaches for funding education in the 21st century.”
Determined to train and support both new and experienced teachers, the governor disclosed that his administration has already made provision in the 2016 approved budget for the establishment of a Teachers Professional Development Centre for regular in-service training.

Some dignitaries that graced the event included founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Chief Afe Babalola, founder; former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Peter Okebukola; former Commissioner of Basic Education/Chairman of the Planning
Committee, Prof. Patrick Muoboghare, and Emeritus Professor, Institute of Education, University of Ibadan, Prof. Pai Obanya, among others.