…seek practical skills to rescue Nigeria’s Education System

…urges FG to include school farming in education system to boost agricultural production

As part of activities marking International Literacy Day, stakeholders in the education sector have called on the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to urgently take decisive steps to restore the quality of education in Nigeria and make learning more practical, relevant, and responsive to the country’s national development needs.

The educationists, who equally emphasized on school farming, stressed that literacy should go beyond ability to read and write and learners should be equipped with practical skills that enable them to contribute meaningfully to food production and promote sustainable development.

They made the call during a special edition of Morning Flight on OGBC 90.5 FM, Abeokuta, yesterday, sponsored by the National Association of Seadogs, Ash Montana and Aqua Kanata decks, as part of efforts to commemorate the International Literacy Day, with the theme “Literacy for People, the Planet and Prosperity.”

Speaking on the programme, Nigeria’s first Professor of Animal Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology, Professor Oluwafunmilayo Adebambo, said that Nigeria would benefit more from its education system if policies were implemented in ways that promoted competence and excellence.

Adebambo, who stressed that although the number of universities in the country had increased considerably to promote fairness and regional balance, argued that appointments, admissions in the  public institutions was, in some cases, undermining merit and slowing national development.

Also, Professor Olanite Alao, a Professor of Pasture Agronomy and Forage Utilisation, urged the FG to place priority on agriculture and farming education in schools to compliment agricultural production and boost food security in the country
Alao said that true literacy should extend beyond reading and writing and include practical knowledge and skills that can empower students to participate meaningfully in food production and promote sustainable development.

On his part, An educationist and fine artist, Mr Emmanuel Arinze, also advocated the revival of practical agriculture in schools to improve the learners knowledge on farming.

Arinze expressed concern that many schools with available land no longer operated farms, unlike in the past when pupils and students gained practical experience in food production.

He further warned that excessive use of mobile phones was distracting many young people from their studies and preventing them from acquiring the practical skills needed to cope with everyday challenges.
The guests in their separate submissions called for the refocusing and improvement of education in the country and agreed that Nigeria’s education system must become more practical, purposeful and responsive to the needs of young people and the country’s development.