Don urges government to invest more in education, vocational training

The President, University French Teachers’ Association of Nigeria (UFTAN), Prof Tunde Fatunde, has disclosed that for the nation to remain a major player in the 21st century, it must massively invest in education and vocational training.

Speaking at the 20th annual conference of the association in Lagos, Fatunde pointed out that “all developed countries including South Korea, which was in the 60’s at the same stage of under-development with Nigeria, had invested massively in education and vocational training.

According to him, “Nigeria invests less than four per cent of its yearly budget on education and vocational training while South Korea invests over 50 per cent in the same sector. The difference is clear. While South Korea has the fifth largest industrialised economy, Nigeria is still struggling to specialise in the export of raw materials in the 21st century.

“For our country to be relevant, governments at all levels must increase their annual budget in education and vocational training.’’

Nigeria has about 10 million children who have no access to elementary education and about 50 percent of our population cannot read, write and think because they are denied access to education.’

The Director and Chief Executive Officer Nigeria French Language Village, Badagry, Prof Rauf Adebisi wondered why the four inter-university centres established by the Federal Government to provide specialised programmes for tertiary institutions in the country could be so flimsily removed from the list of TETFund and beneficiary institutions.

“The effect of delisting is manifest in our physical structure, infrastructure, equipment and even vehicles for conveying students on excursion to neighboring francophone countries. It is even more incomprehensible when it is realised that some colleges of education are beneficiaries of TETFund intervention.