Stakeholders in the education sector have noted the resilience of the Nigerian education system in the year 2022 despite the aftermath of the pandemic and other challenges facing the industry.
They stated this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan while reviewing the sector’s performance in 2022.
In the year under review, the education sector bounced back from the effects of the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected schools across all levels.
The sector also grappled with the effects of inflation, forex and fuel scarcity, and a hike in fuel prices, which hindered its operations in one way or another amidst other economic hardships.
Prof. Segun Ajiboye, the Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), stated that the sector has made significant progress overall. However, tertiary education suffered a setback due to union industrial action.
“Nigerian education faced many challenges, especially when looking at tertiary education regarding the strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
“But we have recorded tremendous progress, especially in teachers’ education and professionalism in Nigeria.
“A lot of International recognitions have come our way; for instance, TRCN got an International Standardisation Organisation Certificate in 2022.
“Also, the United Kingdom Government will now take Nigerian teachers. It is part of the recognition our education system now enjoys globally.
“So, we can say that we have recorded tremendous progress but could still do better,” Ajiboye said.
He called for more funding for the education system in the country, adding that the government needed to commit more resources to find education.
Also, a retired Education Evaluation expert from the University of Ibadan Uni, Prof. Adams Onuka said though there was progress In the sector the progress was relative because tertiary education was stagnant or retrogressed in the year 2022.
“Progress was made because the students and pupils were not left where they were in the past; something was added but may not be as much as it was to be added.
“But fundamentally, I think every stakeholder and the government need to prioritise education by funding it and do everything to make education qualitative.
“If you fund education very well, then you will make the teachers happy, not only in terms of their take-home but in terms of facilities that will aid and facilitate teaching and learning.
“Unless those facilities are in place, we can not say the sector has made sufficient progress,” Onuka said.
On medical education in Nigeria, Prof. Emmanuel Otolorin, the Current President of the Ibadan College of Medicine Alumni Association highlighted issues bedevilling medical education in Nigeria and by extension the education sector as a whole.
Otolorin, a retired Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from the College of Medicine of the University of Ibadan said Gross underfunding, Poor and degenerating infrastructure and Demotivated staff, declining productivity and commitment, were issues needing urgent attention.
He also mentioned frequent industrial disputes, such as ASUU, ARD, MDCAN, NASU, and JOHESU, and brain drain, which are constantly getting worse.
Otolorin described Treasury Single Account (TSA) bottlenecks as the last straw that may break the camel’s back of the Nigerian Tertiary Educational Institution if nothing is being done to address the issue of research funds getting to the researchers, multi-country research.
“Recurrent delays in locating third-party research funds and grants due to alerts that probably go to someone in the CBN who fails to notify institutions need to be checked.
“Also, delays in the release of funds due to bureaucracy and Funds going missing for long periods must equally be addressed swiftly to avoid Nigerian universities especially, the University of Ibadan and University College of Medicine ranked low.
“As well the possibility of losing grants to other African countries for research instead of Nigeria leading the research,” he said.
Otolorin, a Former Medical Director, Federal Medical Center, Abeokuta, Ogun State and Former Country Director of Jhpiego/Nigeria; an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, USA said the loss of school fees paid by foreign students, loss of financial credibility from international donors and loss of global ranking positions due to above challenges were looming.
