President Goodluck Jonathan has directed the federal ministry of education to commence the full implementation the recommendations made by Academic Staff Union of Universities,ASUU, on how to improve the state of universities in the country.
The President gave the charge this in Lafia, the capital of NasarawaState, Monday while commissioning the ultra-modern TA’AL Model primary school constructed by the Umaru Tanko Almakuraadministration to provide competitive and free education for the less privileged.
Represented by the Vice President Namadi Sambo, the President, who was not categorical with figures, said billions of naira had been approved for the education minister, Ruquayyatu Rufai, to commence implementation of the recommendations as soon as possible.
In a startling revelation, President Jonathan also disclosed that Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children in Africa with a staggering 9.5 million children without access to basic education.
While pledging the continued support of the federal government toNasarawa State through the Universal Basic Education Commission,UBEC, Jonathan also promised to provide free textbooks and science laboratory equipment to TA’AL model school and over thirty of its kind which are to be constructed in all the local governments of the state.
In his remarks earlier, the state governor, Umaru Tanko Almakura, noted that it was the first time in a long while that any Nigerian President would be commissioning any project in the state.
Almakura lamented that “despite the fundamental importance of education to the development of our society and its influence on our way of life, we lost our bearing on education a long time ago” adding that “there is no doubt that over the years, we have allowed mediocrity to invade the quality of our public schools”.
The governor said that it was in pursuit of equality and social justice in the education sector and among children of all status and in all parts of the state that his government established the model schools.