Fafunwa, Others Decry Neglect of Education

Former Minister of Education, Prof. Babatunde Fafunwa has decried the insensitive attitude of government to the education sector, particularly at the primary and secondary level.
Fafunwa made this observation at the second annual lecture tagged ‘Education, the Right of Every Child: our Collective Responsibility’, organised by Courage Education Foundation (CEF), a non-government organisation, dedicated to empowering the Nigerian child through the provision of quality education.
He harped on the need for government to make education its priority if the country’s growth and developmental needs must be attained.
Fafunwa who was chairman at the occasion called for a holistic address of the nation’s education malady, starting from the elementary level, saying, “once the basic education of a child is weak, like a house without proper foundation, whatever is built on it is certain to collapse.”
When President Kennedy first came to power, he was asked what would be his first three priorities and he answered: education, education, education. If the US that was already fully developed could still devote its attention to education, I wonder what our problem is that we ignore it”, he said.
Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Sarah Adebisi Sosan, who commended CEF for the laudable initiative, said the state government saw education as one of its cardinal objectives, and was making efforts to improve it.
Sosan who was represented by a Tutor General in the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Wonuola Idris, assured of the state’s continued support for well-intentioned initiatives like the CEF’s and called on individuals and corporate organisations to support such project.
Former first lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, who stressed the need for a concerted effort at reviving education in the country, called for private sector participation to adequately remunerate teachers and give them the necessary tools and incentives that would improve the quality of education in the country.
“We cannot talk about improving education without talking about improving pay for teachers; proper incentives for teachers are highly recommended. Training, seminars and workshops to improve teaching and academic curriculum are required”, she said.