Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has urged the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Federal Ministry of National Planning and data resource centres in the education sector to commence the task of documenting the
interventions of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and other similar gestures with a view to according them their rightful place
in national discourse.
This is in a bid to adequately appreciate the enormity of resources being committed to the education sector.
The Minister also urged the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off its nationwide strike to give room for dialogue and government’s sincere efforts aimed at addressing the lingering impasse.
Mall. Adamu made these two appeals on Thursday at the Second Edition of the National Tertiary Admissions Performance Merit (NATAP-M) Awards organised by the Board.
The Minister pledged the Federal Government’s continued support to the education sector in the country through adequate provision of manpower
and infrastructure.
While congratulating the winners of the five categories, the Minister commended the efforts of the Board towards ensuring excellence in tertiary
institutions in the country.
He reiterated the Federal Government’s determination to mobilise critical support for the education sector adding that the award was an aspect of government’s reward system and intervention to boost teaching and learning as well as research activities.
“In 2019, JAMB at the first edition of the programme, supported the various winners with the sum of N125 million and this year, the Board is supporting the sector with the sum of N375 million. This is, no doubt, an excellent gesture, worthy of emulation,” the Minister said.
Continuing, the highly-elated Minister said, “I am aware that the Board’s support for the education sector cuts across the Basic, Senior School and Tertiary Education levels through its Corporate Social Responsibility.’’
“The computation of the financial contributions to the education system
should not be limited to budgetary allocation by government to the sector
alone. Although, it’s a reality that owing to lean resources of government,
education does not seem to be receiving its fair share of the national budget at present.”
He said, “I urge the National Bureau of Statistics, Federal Ministry of National Planning and the various data resource centres to make concerted efforts to always elicit timely and accurate information from the various Heads of Institutions so as to adequately document all other intervention, such as the NATAP-M Awards, in order to fully appreciate the enormity of the resources being committed to the sector.”
“I believed that when the nation begins to have accurate statistics of commitment to the different sectors of the economy, it would be appreciated that we are treading on the right path, though a lot
still needs to be done.”
On the lingering nationwide strike by ASUU, the Minister said, ‘’I seize this
opportunity to urge ASUU to call of its strike while all forms of negotiation and intervention continue.”
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Ministry of Education to carrying out its statutory responsibilities towards repositioning the nation’s education sector.
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