By Juliana Uche-Okobi
A former representative of the Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the Eighth Senate, Senator Magus Abe, has condemned the decay in the public education sector.
Abe described public schools as “nothing more than gathering holes for desperate children and parents, who are knowledge-thirsty but are faced with empty schools.”
He also charged government and other stakeholders to create a dynamic educational system to prepare Nigerians for contribution to national growth.
Giving the charge recently in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he distributed laptop computers to more than 100 beneficiaries of the Education and Work Enhancement Support Scheme, his empowerment initiative, Abe highlighted shortcomings of the education system in Nigeria, the rising number of out-of-school children and the falling standard of education, including teaching and facilities, in government-owned schools, which he said were a threat to national growth.
Abe said, “One of the things that worry me as a citizen of this country is that today in this country, statistically, we are told that the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria is over 18 million.
“This is more than the population of Sweden, Hungary and even the Netherlands. I don’t want to talk about the huge number who are in schools but actually not learning anything useful.
“My personal estimate is that more than 70 per cent of public schools are actually nothing more than gathering holes for desperate children and parents who are knowledge-thirsty but are faced with empty schools.”
The former lawmaker declared that he was a beneficiary of the robust educational system in Nigeria in bygone days, regretting that things have worsened and the time has come to salvage the sector.
He said, “Yes, I am a product of free education at a time when government paid some needed attention to the sector.
“But today, I feel disturbed when government claims to run a free education without the necessary teaching and learning facilities and good remuneration for teachers and staff.”
Abe advocated better budgeting, planning and implementation of policies that would encourage global competitiveness aimed at driving the crucial sector toward development.
Those who got computers in the Education and Work Enhancement Support Scheme included doctoral degree candidates from his senatorial zone, who performed excellently, and some journalists in Rivers State
Responding on behalf of the PhD students, Gogonte Emmanuel of the Department of Chemistry, Rivers State University, thanked the senator for the gesture.
He said, “We are truly grateful for your benevolence and concern, particularly on education/ human capacity, a sector you have committed huge resources throughout your stay in office.
“Indeed, these computers, which have already been formatted and programmed to aid research, would enhance our studies.”
