NAN-H-27
Education
By Olayinka Olawale
Lagos, Oct. 10, 2016 (NAN) Amid the strident calls for the restructuring of the polity, a university lecturer, Prof. Sat Obiyan, has told the Federal Government that restructuring the education system will resolve other national challenges.
Obiyan, who is Head of the Department of Political Science at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.
He said that restructuring the education system would address the country’s technological, agricultural and economic challenges.
Obiyan lamented that the country was still technologically backward, making it difficult for the nation to realize its growth aspirations.
According to him, the absence of appropriate technological force is a major setback for the nation’s development.
The don said that technology was the key element that could address most of the economic challenges facing the nation, regretting that technology had not been fully embraced in the country.
“Education should be the basis for the takeoff of technological development but we have not done what we should do.
“We are still very technologically backward.
“We have not really programmed our education to serve as catalyst for the technological development of this country.
The head of department argued that Nigeria must have to tailor its education to address the needs of the nation.
“If you look at countries that we started together 56 years ago, one will discover that they have made considerable progress, ahead of Nigeria.
“Today, we still talk about reliance on oil but Nigeria need to fully diversify into agriculture and industrialisation.
“To achieve these, technology is vital,’’ Obiyan told stated.
The lecturer said that stakeholders in education system should make conscious efforts to address the challenges.
“The transformation required in the country should be anchored on technological development.
“If we continue to wait and think that the western countries will come and help us, we are making a fundamental mistake.
He argued that there was serious deficiency in the country’s technology and that until “we programme our education to serve as a catalyst for development we will never go anywhere’’.
Obiyan also argued that inconsistencies in policy formulation were affecting other key sectors of the nation’s economy.
He said that the Federal Government should come up with policies that could stand the test of time, noting that government should also consult widely before formulating policies. (NAN)
OOG/AIB/SN
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(Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde, controlled by Silas Nwoha)