Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has restated his administration commitment to reinvigorate the education sector for sustainable social and economic development.
He said that the center to his administration’s vision was the restoration of the prestige and glory of public education in the state.
Mohammed said this at the 2023 Education Summit organized by the state government to revamp the education system, on Monday in Bauchi.
He said that his administration aspired to address the challenges, cultivating a well equipped workforce to bridge human resource gaps in the health, agriculture, education, the modern economy, among others
“Our ultimate aim is to construct a knowledge-based economy, turning the demographic challenge of unemployed youth into an asset by imparting the necessary knowledge, skills, and values required in the globalized economy,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro called on state governors to allocate fixed percentage of the state and local government councils’ monthly income, to fund tertiary institutions.
Bogoro, a former Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), noted that there could be no improvement in access and quality of education without adequate funding of the sector.
He added that TETfund recorded great achievements in tertiary institutions not only in Bauchi State but across the country as a result of funding.
The former TETFund boss, who commended Gov. Bala Mohammed for allocating 16 per cent of the 2024 budget to the education sector, urged him to increase the allocation to the sector in the subsequent budgets.
“Leadership must accept responsibility for both success and failure in governance.
“We must refrain from the trading of blames and ask ourselves what we have done to improve the education sector of the country because we have no excuse.
“The Northern elites have been privileged to be in charge of the affairs of the education sector of the country than the southern part and sadly, we, in the region, have the highest number of ou-of-school children.
“During my tenure as TETfund Executive Secretary, Nigeria universities were ranked among the first 1,000 in the world, and this was only possible because we increased the funding for research,” he said.
He also called on stakeholders and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to continue to support the Bauchi government toward improving the education sector, to ensure that more children access quality education in the state.
The theme of the summit is: “Nurturing a Flourishing Future: Improving Access and Quality Education in Bauchi State”.
NAN
