…As Step Up Nigeria holds enlightenment seminar
With a view to improving academics, reducing truancy and corruption in the education sector in the country, educationists have called on government at all levels to promptly and adequately pay salaries to teaches in both primary, secondary and tertiary schools, as well as give them incentives, including putting in place conducive teaching and learning environments by providing quality infrastructures, facilities and affordable tuitions.
They made the call during a one-day enlightenment seminar organized by Step Up Nigeria for Virtual Reality Film Screening on the Education Sector in Nigeria held at All Seasons Hotel, Owerri, last week.
The participants who were made up of Head Teachers, Education Secretaries drawn from different schools in the state, including staff of Imo State Universal Basic Education Board (IMSUBEB), observed that the decay or poor academics in the country is largely caused by monumental corruption perpetrated by those in government and school management (teachers).
“To revitalize the education sector”, the educationists added, “government should provide needed quality infrastructures and facilities, equip them appropriately with solid state-of-the-art equipments, employ real and qualified educators, pay them well, give them incentives like the politicians, constitute board or committee that can periodically visit schools, monitor teachers performances in the classrooms. All these things can entice students work hard, behave well and achieve academic excellence”, they maintained.
They pointed out that like Sherifat’s dream of becoming a lawyer who was later realized because there was a positive change of behavior by rulers, contractors and school management on the Virtual Reality Film shown, “Nigerian students can equally achieve their dreams of becoming better citizens through quality education.
“Sherifat’s story reflects the dreams of most students in Nigeria. The film mirrors the society especially about what is going on in the country’s education sector. It is really a drama artistically dramatized to expose the monumental corruption that decays teaching and learning”.
Speaking earlier, Founder and Executive Director of Step Up Nigeria, Onyi Ough, explained that the foundation “is a creative Non-Governmental Organisation that is working towards building bridges between government and citizens to tackle corruption and improve the delivery of services in Nigeria. Under our Anti-corruption Education for Social Change project (fully funded by the MacArthur Foundation), we use storytelling to educate children on the ills of corruption”.
Onyi Ough, who emphasized that “in 2022, we began collaborating with the Imo State Ministry of Education to educate children on the ills of corruption and its negative impact on service delivery in Nigeria. Through this collaboration, over 2300 students across schools in Imo have received anti-corruption education and more than 2000 free anti-corruption storybooks have been distributed to students and school libraries in the state”, thanked the participants for participating in the seminar.
