'Make basic education free, compulsory'

FORMER Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, NUC, Prof. Julius Okojie, has advocated a free and compulsory education at the primary and secondary levels in Nigeria. To this end, the scholar, who bemoaned the state of education in the country, appealed to leaders at various levels of governance to put in place a system where pupils at both primary and secondary schools can freely access education. He spoke in Abuja at the launch of his foundation, Thomas Agnes Christianah Okojie, TACO Charity Foundation.  Regretting that pupils in the country were still sitting under trees to learn in some schools in the country, he noted that pupils subjected to learning through such process were always coming out half-baked. This, he said, was not good for Nigeria’s growth and development. 

Speaking further at the event where a lecture was delivered with the title: “The future of the nation’s university system, Okojie said Nigerian leaders owe every Nigerian child free primary and secondary education. He said: “Local, state and federal government structures are not working. Federal Government is still doing basic education when it is the function of local government while secondary schools are for states. “Having worked through the public service, I know that a girl who has no education does not have a space in this country. So, I have been promoting that crusade informally using my family house at Uromi, in Edo State. I have decided it will be the headquarters of the foundation. Education is the least you can give to kids and there is so much work to do in this country.”

Explaining the reason for the foundation, he said his father, Thomas Okojie, whom he referred to as a “crusader of education,” lost his life while trying to upgrade his educational status. Hear him: “On September 9, 1960, I had passed an entrance to the college not very far from Uromi, in Eruwa and my father decided to take me there to sleep over so I don’t get late for the exam. When my father was returning to Uromi, he didn’t make it. He had an accident and died with one of my cousins and I was so distressed. I saw my mother in widowhood and it really hurt me. So being the son of a widow, I have always had sympathy for widows. I was also interested in girl-child education because I have four sisters, so the problems were on me.” The guest speaker, Prof. Desireé Guobadia, in her presentation, called for the reintroduction of Higher School Certificate, HSC programmes, saying the maturity the HSC gave was missing in the integration of students into higher institutions. 

Guobadia said that the certificate would provide much needed training platforms for student to get more maturity.

She also said that the numbers of higher institutions was insufficient to cater for the admission need of Nigerians.

“Government is not lacking in ideas, the problem has always been the will to implement recommendation. I want to emphasise the place of proper planning for students enrolment and also following proper budgeting,” she said.

She identified the place of aligning education goals with national goals and policies, saying the 6-3-3-4 system of education should lead to acquisition of knowledge and skills to make room for those not proceeding to higher institutions.

Also speaking, the Acting Executive Secretary of NUC, Dr Chris Maiyaki, extolled the role of Okojie in shaping the university system.

Maiyaki commended Okojie for his tutelage to him in particular and other members of staff of the commission for 10 years, saying that gains from his wealth of knowledge for quality and excellence could not be overemphasized.

Culled from Vanguard