MR. President, we are deliberately adopting an uncommon editorial letter approach to draw your attention to the nagging issue of education, which we consider very critical to national development. A lot has been said about the decay in our education system resulting from official negligence over the decades. Government has at different times set up panels to review the education policy and make changes. We are aware of the inconsistencies in policy formulation, shabby implementation of warped curricula and utter relegation of education to the background by governments at all levels. This, over time has wrecked our once vibrant education system.The result is that millions of our children are out of school because the system cannot accommodate their growing number. Sadly, this is happening in the 21st Century, when the rest of the world has gone nuclear in computerisation of technological breakthroughs. There is no doubt that education is the bedrock of modern civilisation, without which other endeavours would fail. You need to do something now to avert dire consequences on our national development aspirations. There will be no development without education.We are alarmed that in this age and time, newspaper reports indicate that a staggering six million Nigerian children (breadwinners of a sort) are out of school engaged in child labour to provide for their poor families. Another one million, the reports say, are forced to drop out of school due to poverty. In the North alone, about 10 million children are believed to be out of school. Add this to the over 993,604 candidates, representing 33.48 per cent of the 1,493,604 candidates who took the 2011 UTME but could not be admitted into tertiary institutions this year due to lack of space; we have a picture of a country in major crisis. The situation is akin to the destruction of the future.Mr. President, the 2008 Situation Assessment and Analysis (SAA) carried out by Hope World Wide indicate that 17.5 million or 24.5 per cent of Nigerian children are Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), the largest in the world. These are children who have been made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, road accidents, maternal mortality and ethno-religious conflicts.They have nobody to care for them. Having the least opportunity to go to school, they are edged out of education. You should spearhead the inclusion of this group into an education plan.Please be reminded, Mr. President, that education is a constitutional issue.The Constitution, which you swore to uphold bestows right to education on every citizen. Section 18 (1) stipulates that 'Government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.' Sub-section (3) (a, b, c, d) states that 'Government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy' through free, compulsory and universal primary education; free secondary education; free university education; and free adult literacy programme.On this basis, therefore, the issue of education is not something that should be toyed with as it is currently being done. The importance of education is underscored by its direction to the youth of this country who are the leaders of tomorrow. To ignore education as a critical aspect of youth development is to destroy the country's future. The widespread youth restiveness in different parts of the country gives an insight into what the future would be without mass and qualitative education.We are not unaware that some state governments are currently implementing free education but this has not helped matters. The bulk of families still don't have money to send their children to school. In the South-West zone, for instance, which is a traditional home for free education, the governments are making much demands on parents by charging all sorts of fees. The entire South-East zone (with the exception of Imo State, which just began experimenting on free education at the primary and secondary levels), is in deep crisis as millions of children, particularly the male, are no longer interested in school. The South-South and the zones in the North are worse off in many respects.We are dismayed that public schools that thrived in the past have practically collapsed, with the result that private schools have taken over education delivery. Many of today's government leaders were products of the now ruined public schools. Many benefited from free education. Public schools were private schools of old. The turnaround of events shows how far we have failed as a nation. Those who are now leaders, who benefitted from the vibrant education of the past, have abdicated their responsibility in keeping the system working.One reason for this failure is in the faulty system we are operating. The states are not making wealth but practically depend on Federal Government's monthly allocation for sustenance. This is retrogressive to say the least. With increasing population, only a few states would meet the education needs of their people as provided in the Constitution. That is why this structure needs to be reviewed in the national interest.Mr. President, education is the only thing that will take this country into the future. Nothing else will do. Mass illiteracy is a cankerworm that will take us to a ruinous end. Owing to our faulty education policy, especially, in the technical areas, we are now importing nationals of neighbouring countries for all sorts of artisan work because our technical schools and trade centres that produced artisans in the past have been abolished. We need an education policy that will drastically reduce the number of the uneducated. Skill acquisition should be the target. That is what has transformed China into an economic giant. China's skilled educated population has turned it into an industrial and manufacturing hub. We need a new strategy that will compel all tiers of government to do their work. Presently, the states and local councils are not doing enough.Mr. President, leadership is the issue. You have an historic opportunity and so much is anchored on you as the pilot of the ship of state. You should be concerned with the future that you bequeath this country, as well as your legacy. History is beckoning on you to re-invent the wheel of education. That is the transformation the country needs. And you alone, as the President, have the duty of providing the necessary leadership for this great work.
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