Funmi Lawrence
Experts have advised managers in the education sector to initiate and implement policies that would capture emerging trends so as to enhance the standard of education in the country.
The experts, who spoke at the Speech and Prize Giving Day Ceremony of Redeemer Teap International School, Abuja on Saturday, said that effective policies were essential to advancing the cause of education in any country.
Mrs. Stella Ejiofor, Head Teacher of the school, said that government formulate policies that hardly see the light of the day, a situation, she noted, had remained a hinderance to the growth of the sector.
According to her, the major way we can address the challenges in education is to work with the approved policies so as to improve standards.
“If you look at the area of staffing, when recruitment is done, the qualified people, who sat for the examination, are not picked.
“We must improve the quality of teachers. It is important for teachers to get registered in line with the directives of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), so as to get qualified before the December deadline to avoid being out of job.
“Owners of private schools should also assist to get their teachers registered so as to work with only those qualified,” she said.
Mr Oladimeji Yusuf, Principal of the school, called for a holistic educational standard for children to attain greater heights.
He called on private school owners to make education affordable for all, urging the incoming Minister of Education to, as a matter of urgency, call for an education summit to address the issue.
“We have various challenges confronting the sector and one of it is high school fees. I want to implore all private schools to put in more efforts to provide holistic education at an affordable fee for all,” he said.
A parent, Mrs Ihuoma Ugwu, advocated for the introduction of indigenous languages to be taught at the lower primary, to enable Nigerian children to learn and speak their indigenous language.
Ugwu said that that should be done through infusing the language into the curriculum, while also ensuring that the language subject stood alone.
“In the curriculum, I see that the government only wants languages to be taught at the upper primary, and not from the early years. For us to know our language, we should start teaching it from the lower primary.
“In Nigeria, we have diverse languages. Every Nigerian should be able to speak at least one language fluently. That is only possible if we start from the early years,” he said.
