By Chimezie Godfrey
The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba has said that the government is making effort to ensure the delivery of quality education in federal unity colleges.
Nwajiuba made the promise on Monday in Abuja at the ocassion of the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Principals of Federal UnityColleges (FUCS), with the theme,”Restructuring Our Educational System to Suit Our Challenging Times.”
The Minister noted that the AGM is an event that provides the stakeholders the opportunity to take stock ofactivities in Federal Unity Colleges and share best practices.
He stressed that the government is focused on ensuring qualitative instructional delivery so as to maximize student performance inconformity with the societal needs.
According to him, this entails that the present system ofeducation should be modified by reforming learning, curriculum andpedagogy, to keep abreast with modern global practices in Education.
Nwajiuba said,”The Government is making concerted efforts to deliver quality education in line with Mr. President’s NINE-POINT AGENDA, which emphasizes access to quality education.
“Easy access to quality education for all is on course and we are determined to reset our priorities, specify our targets, programmes and strategies in other to make this a concrete and measurable reality in the education sector.
“To further achieve the objectives of quality education for all, we need the collective support, co-operation and sincere commitment of all the key players, especially you the Principals of the FUCs”
The Minister who commended the federal government for theestablishment of six (6) more Federal Science and Technical Colleges (FSTCS) in the country, added that these colleges will go a long way in promoting theacquisition of entrepreneurial skills for self-reliance.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, you must brace up to your responsibility and return our colleges as centres of excellence which was the vision of the founding fathers.
“You owe it as a duty to teach and nurture these children to achieveexpected behavior despite the challenges facing the educational system.
“Let me assure you, that the Federal Government is committed to addressing the challenges facing most of our Federal Unity Colleges and the educational sector at large, such as poor management/Leadership style, inadequate classrooms, indiscipline by staff and students, inadequate number of qualified teachers, inadequate staff welfare, poor academic performance,inadequate funding resulting to dilapidated furniture and unfinished projects, et cetera.
“I urge you all once again, to always remember that you are the face of the Federal Ministry of Education in the states. It is therefore, imperative that you always act in such a way that the Ministry is not brought to disrepute.
“I implore you to be more committed and to exhibit professionalism in handling various issues in the Colleges.
“Your well-articulated inputs in this meeting will go a long way in achieving the muchdesired repositioning of Federal Unity Colleges,” the Minister said.
