Firm calls for state of emergency in education sector
18 November 2021 |
2:48 am
Indigenous tech giant, SystemSpecs, has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the education sector to address the myriads of problems confronting it.
Indigenous tech giant, SystemSpecs, has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the education sector to address the myriads of problems confronting it.
Speaking at the business of education summit themed: “Unlocking the potential for science, technology and innovation in our schools,” SystemSpecs Executive Director, Deremi Atanda, appealed to government and critical stakeholders not to handle the drawbacks with levity.
At the summit organised by education information service platform, Edusko Africa, in Lagos, Atanda also urged the government to embrace more actions and less talk in solving educational problems, such as lack of innovation, infrastructure and teaching aids, poor funding, and governance.
The tech expert added that the importance of unlocking potential in science and education should also not be overlooked as this could bring about innovation culminating in the economic and sustainable growth of Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
According to Atanda, education is a determining factor for the development of any country.
“People really need to know what it means when there is a crisis in a sector. It means that the country cannot make any meaningful economic development if we don’t fix it.
“Scientific knowledge allows us to develop new technologies, solve practical problems and make informed decisions both individually and collectively. The potential of science in education promotes scientific literacy and responsible citizenship,” he said.
Atanda also called for the designation of a national emergency coordinator, who would be held responsible for organising a nationwide intervention in education, just as Nigeria had for COVID-19.
The call to action by the pan-African tech giant comes amid concerns for the poor state of education in the country.
Citing UNICEF recommendation, Atanda noted that one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria.
He said: “Even though primary education is officially free and compulsory, more than 10.5 million of the country’s children aged 5 to 14 are not in school. Even when children go to school, the education they receive is often of low quality; based on outdated curricula without impacting the critical skills necessary to compete with children from other parts of the world. One of the areas where this is obvious in science, technology and innovation. The technology advocate, therefore, called for the mainstreaming of coding for Nigerians right from childhood.”
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