Education

University Don Identifies Problems of Nigeria Educational System

Published

4 years ago

September 26, 2021

A University don Professor Sidney Osuji has identified prolification of private schools as one of the major problems affecting the educational system in the country.

Professor Osuji who is the Dean of the Faculty of Education, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) spoke at the weekend in the virtual Summit of the Ezumezu Isinweke with the theme : Structure of Education in Ihitte/Uboma, Current trends and resolutions said “to make it worse, we are still depending on the Education system handed over to us by the missionaries. The few transformations we have had in the system are most of the times misdirected. For instance, we clamor for mass education and literacy to eliminate illiteracy in the land but our people abuse it. If you move from Onicha Uboma to Amainyi or from Nkumato to Abueke or Umuoma, you will see many private schools. Their mission is not to educate the people but to make money. This is why they employ unqualified teachers to make profit. While the pupils are given certificates at the end of their schooling”.

The Professor of Measurement and Evaluation went further to proffer possible solutions saying “We must begin to re- think, redesign, retool and re- engineer our education system to focus and address specific aspects of our society’s life through which value and integrity for wholesome living is achieved.
The soul of our communities should be subsumed in growth and development based and through which the seat of knowledge is created”

He said our higher institutions should have focus. Such focus should be directed to agriculture, science, technology, vocational training, among others.

“We should elect people who have the interest of our collective development into offices. Who will give us the type of Education that will give us knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs and habits to eradicate joblessness and idleness in our society.
We should elect people who should provide employment of the educated and not to give them rice.
You know that when wealth is used continuously and not created it will finish, but when learning is used continuously it continues to increase” he concluded.

In his remarks a Chairman of the Ezumezu Isinweke elite group Engineer Uzo Okafor appreciated the don for attending the summit, and the convener of the Summit Cheta Ojukwu, promising that the program has come to stay.

Ezumezu Isinweke Elite sociocultural group of Ihitte/Uboma LGA, Imo State is a welfare group that has Ihitte/Uboma as centrepiece of its policies.

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Education

Athena Centre Appointed to NGREN Board as Federal Government Deepens Data-Driven Governance

Published

1 day ago

November 29, 2025

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership has been appointed to the Governing Board of the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN)/Tertiary Education Research Applications and Services (TERAS). NgREN -Nigeria’s national research and education backbone – provides high-speed connectivity, shared digital services, and collaboration infrastructure for universities and research institutions, while TERAS powers the digital applications that support research, data exchange, and digital learning across the tertiary system.

In a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by the center’s Media and Communications Officer Paul Liam.

The new NgREN/TERAS Board was inaugurated by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, at the Nigeria National EdTech Strategy Mid-Term Co-Creation Workshop, hosted with support from Mastercard Foundation and the World Bank Group.

The Board includes the Executive Secretaries of NUC, NBTE, NCCE, and TETFund; representatives of vice chancellors, rectors, and provosts; and major digital infrastructure stakeholders such as NCC, Galaxy Backbone, and USPF. The Athena Centre joins the Board as the civil society voice.

In his remarks, Dr. Alausa acknowledged the Centre’s role in shaping national transparency reforms, noting that the Ministry’s Federal Tertiary Institutions Governance Transparency Portal (FTIGTP) drew inspiration from Athena’s research and advocacy.

He expressed confidence that the reconstituted Board will deliver measurable improvements within two years to strengthen Nigeria’s research ecosystem and digital readiness.

Representing the Centre on the Board, its Chancellor, Chief Osita Chidoka, OFR, commended the Ministry’s commitment to transparency and evidence-based reform.Reaffirming the Ministry’s digital direction, Dr. Alausa stated: “For the first time, Nigeria is building a unified data architecture for basic, secondary, and tertiary institutions. You cannot reform what you cannot measure, and we are determined to measure what matters.”

Echoing the need for interoperability, Dr. Tijani emphasised the importance of shared digital infrastructure, noting:“Digital transformation fails when systems operate in silos. Our priority is a national architecture where platforms talk to each other and every school is connected.”

Chidoka welcomed the digital innovation underway but stressed the importance of deeper inclusion of state governments, who own and manage most Nigerian schools, in planning, implementation, and financing.

According to him:“For education to succeed, states must invest, lead, and commit. The Federal Government must coordinate and support, but it cannot carry the burden of school management alone.”

The Athena Centre reaffirmed its commitment to supporting federal and state governments in strengthening education data systems, digital governance, and transparent accountability.Media Contact:

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