The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on Wednesday, called for a total overhaul of the country’s higher education system.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also noted that the higher education sub-sector in Nigeria was riddled with challenges such as poor funding, corruption, industrial actions among others.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the eighth edition of the open science symposium in Abuja with the theme, “Advancing Open Science and Collaboration: The Role of Stakeholders,” which was organized by the Committee of Vice-chancellors of Nigerian Universities with the support of the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office, Mamman said the administration of President Bola Tinubu will address all the challenges that have been identified in the sub-sector.
“I wish to state emphatically that the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities plays a crucial role in providing a platform for the cross- fertilization of ideas on how to reposition Nigerian Universities to attain global recognition and excellence. This Committee provides an Intellectual platform for exchanging and discussing cross-cutting issues on the Nigerian University system in particular, and the Nigeria’s Education Sector in general. I congratulate the CVCNU for the excellent efforts, and for bringing us together once again.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, this topic, Higher Education, which you have asked me to discuss, is apt and timely in view of its far-reaching implication on the policy direction of the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of the current administration in the education sector.
“It is, however, unfortunate that our higher education sub-sector is plagued with many challenges such as inadequate funding, corruption, inadequate infrastructural facilities, shortage of academic staff, strike actions, brain-drain, poor research, weak governance and insecurity, among others. You will agree with me that the higher education landscape in Nigeria requires a total overhaul so that it can effectively put Nigeria universities and other levels of tertiary institutions at par with others around the globe.
“The current administration under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, fully understands the enormity of challenges of Nigeria’s higher education and fully prepared to confront them headlong. It is against this backdrop that Mr. President has promised to improve the education budget to 25 per cent with the right policies in place. It was also towards the realization of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of the current administration that I recently inaugurated an eight-man committee, headed by Engr. Nuhu Yakubu, to provide a roadmap for the education sector.”
Speaking further, the minister stressed the need to harness the Human Resources in order to meet the demands of tertiary education standards globally.”
Also speaking at the event, the representatives of the Committee who is the current Vice-chancellor of the Kaduna State University, Prof. Abdullahi Musa stressed the need to explore innovative means to position the country in a good space scientifically.
