Stakeholders in the education sector have posited that giving teachers’ priority attention and engaging in strategic training will restore the dying educational culture. They noted that matters bordering on the quality, welfare and passion of teachers should not be treated with levity.

This was the thrust of the stakeholders meeting held at the International Educational Management Network (IEDUMAN) held recently in Lagos, which is a platform for educators to connect, collaborate and learn industry insights and best practices with the aim of impacting on the education system.

They also advocated the entrenchment of values that will raise the country’s academic standard to a globally accepted one.Founder and president, IEDUMAN, Dr. Onyeka Jaivbo-Ojigbo noted that education is key to national development and teachers hold the key. Chairman, advisory board of IEDUMAN, Prof Adams Onuka said, “to make education work is a responsibility of all stakeholders. Leaving it to teachers alone will be disastrous.

Lamenting the appalling quality of education in Nigeria, retired Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mazi Udoh, observed, “when all the big men are taking their children to study in India, Ghana and others, then there is something fundamentally not right with our education.”Educational consultant and lawyer, Bunmi Omeke said the problem of the education sector is multifaceted and interwoven with socio-political and economic systems of the society.

“Some of the problems are foundational and that includes the teachers. We agree we need to have good hands in the industry and we always talk about teachers, however, their efforts must be complemented by parents.”

She called for a holistic approach to the teaching profession in the country adding that it is important to train people who are willing to be teachers. Chief Executive Officer, Science Museum, Chinyere Osadebe, lamented that most of the teachers find themselves teaching because they do not have other choices; hence they do not put in their best.A former director of education in Lagos State, Dr. M. A. Raji, emphasised the imperative of partnering with government in order to make headway in revamping the sector. To this end, Lanre Olayinka, a legal practitioner proposed a two-way action plan.

“We can simultaneously, approach the Ministry of Education with our plan, and at the same time, approach international donors for support saying Nigerian graduates are looked down upon outside the shores of the land.
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