Leadership (Abuja)
Stella Eze
6 January 2009
Abuja — The 55th National Council on Education (NCE) has opened in abuja with a call for renewed commitment to restoring the education system for global competitiveness.
Welcoming the participants to the week-long council meeting holding at the Abuja Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Monday, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry of education, Dr. Goke Adegoroye, said there was no going back on the Federal Government's resolve to resuscitate the ailing sector within a short period of time.
With the theme, 'The Role of Education In Human Capacity Building For National Development, he observed that the timing of the NCE was apt, as it would provide ample opportunity for stakeholders to make valuable inputs in the process of developing a road map for the education sector.
He noted that the sector was high in global ranking, but unfortunately suffered long neglect, leading to very low quality education, coupled with policy inconsistencies, decayed infrastructures, and lack of commitment among others. He added that apart from sustaining existing reforms, new ones must be instituted to tackle the numerous problems plaguing the system.
According to him, "there is no doubt that the sector has suffered many setbacks over the years, including inadequacy of infrastructures, poor planning, and policy inconsistencies, among others.
In view of the gravity of the problems and the dangers they portend, we are compelled to place utmost priority on ensuring that all faculties and endowments are channeled to reviving the education sector.
"This administration is committed, not only to restoring our educational system but also, to ensuring that it ranked among the best in the world.
You must not only take the various reforms in education seriously but also institute new ones in response to emerging challenges".
Adegoroye explained that the NCE would, among other things, appraise some of the major decisions taken at the last NCE held in Katsina in 2007, which included the strengthening of the Federal, States and Local Government Inspectorate Services for enhanced education quality assurance services in schools.
To strengthen the capacities of inspectors at al levels, intensive training and re-orientation of about 750 inspectors and supervisors is already on-going in all the six geo-political zones, while the ministry is also reviewing and harmonising inspection instruments to generate a National Evaluation Instrument to guarantee uniformity in evaluating quality standards in schools, he said.
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