Innovative education key to Nigeria’s growth, says Tambuwal

Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has said that Nigeria’s quest for development would not be complete without paying attention to education because a productive, functional and pragmatic education sector would pave way for scientific development, technological advancement and economic growth.

He stated this in Sokoto at the opening ceremony of the ongoing First International Conference of the Faculty of Education, Sokoto State University, with the theme, ‘Human Security and the challenges of innovative education’.

He said because of the critical importance of education, his government’s expectations from the faculty are high, especially in the state’s decisive march towards educational reforms committed to the enthronement of accelerated development of the various sectors in the state.

For him, the choice of the theme is apt because ‘Human Security and the Challenge of Innovative Education’ sends hope and positive signal that the Sokoto State University is prepared for emerging educational challenges as they relate to the quality of education and the plight of the stakeholders in the sector.

Speaking further, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives said, “I must not fail to state that the subject of human security, which the organisers of this conference have chosen to address, encompasses diverse areas of human life and therefore, has the potential to attract contributions and ameliorative proposals on the various facets of human life.”

Former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Peter Okebukola, who delivered the keynote address to open the conference, stated that at no time is the relevance of innovative higher education to Nigeria’s economic survival and national development more critical than now, especially during the present period of dwindling economic fortunes occasioned by slump in oil prices in the international market.

Localising his presentation to Sokoto State, he said to counter radicalism, which lead to extreme violence, the Faculty of Education working with the Faculty of Science should develop anti-radicalism programmes to rehabilitate people.

He also suggested the development and implementation of literacy programme to ensure that people in Sokoto are literate in addition to working with the relevant agencies to reduce adult literacy rate by half in the next 10 years.