MINISTER of Education Adamu Adamu has accused some Northern governors of mismanaging primary education.
The minister spoke during a ministerial briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.
Speaking on the state of nomadic education in the country, Adamu lamented that the scheme had suffered a similar fate as basic education in several Northern states.
“The Federal Government established the National Commission for Nomadic Education in 1989 to provide access to basic education for the nomadic population of the country with the aim of boosting literacy and equipping them with skills and competencies to enhance their well-being and participation in the nation-building process.
“The problem we have in nomadic education is like the problem I had when I came with my journalistic exuberance into government. I believed an emergency will be declared,
“But on reflection, not by me, but by the government, we found that declaring the emergency is more of a matter for states. And so, my effort was directed at the states. When I presented my memo to the Council, I was asked to go and present it to the National Economic Council.”
The minister added: “I presented the paper three times trying to convince state governments to see the wisdom in declaring emergency, at least in the primary schools, and then that will strengthen the hand of the government, even if by way of intervention, to help the states to rescue primary schools.
“The way our primary schools are, and I would like to say this about governors, especially in the Northern states. It is as if they are looking for power to destroy education at the primary school level. Except for a few.
“I don’t think there’s any governor who has any good story to say about primary education and nomadic education, the Federal Government is only making intervention.”
Adamu noted that unless the Federal Government gets full cooperation from the states, it will take a long time to achieve the objectives of nomadic education.
“I hope states will change their attitude,” he added.
