ANOTHER strategic plan, put together by the Federal Ministry of Education, but which has not been made public, was presented to President Goodluck Jonathan on September 5, by Education Minister, Prof. Ruqquayattu Rufai, and the Minister of State, Barrister Ezenwo Wike.This was done because the President had asked the ministers to explain what they intend to do over the next four years. It is still unclear if the plan is a fresh one or the same as the so called Roadmap, launched with fanfare by former Education Minister, Dr Sam Egwu, but which has largely remained on paper.While the problems and practical solutions of the education sector are well known and begging for implementation, Nigerians have continually been saddled with a plethora of strategic plans, which have been given various names since the advent of democracy in 1999.So far, both Rufai and especially Wike have been making pledges. Rufai has admonished the civil servants under her control not to hide under the shadow of bureaucracy to truncate the noble intentions of the Jonathan administration. Wike has also affirmed that the success of the ministry would depend largely on how well the civil servants were willing to implement government's policies. But what is also important is whether the two ministers would have the will to deal with the ineptitude of senior civil servants at the FME, who have been identified as clogs in the wheel of progress.It also remains to be seen, if the two ministers would not force the parastatals to award contracts to their friends and political associates, like some former Education ministers have done. A former head of one of the parastatals under ministry got into trouble when he refused to obey an instruction from a former Minister of State over the award of a contract. Besides, it remains to be seen if the two Ministers would check the excesses of some board members overseeing the affairs of some parastatals, who are in the habit of either asking for money they are not entitled to, or insisting that their candidates or particular companies in which they have interest, execute choice contracts for the respective parastatals under their care.For instance, Wike has gone to about three unity schools in the last one month, where he discovered some abandoned projects. But he is yet to name the contractors responsible and the sanctions to be applied. Last Monday, he was at the Federal Government Girls' College, Akure, Ondo State, where he discovered some badly executed projects. As is usual with Education Ministers, Wike threatened to sanction the erring contractors, but he should not expect Nigerians to take him seriously. Hajia Aishatu Dukku, a former Minister of State for Education, once went to a unity school located in the Federal Capital Territory, expressed shock at the number of abandoned projects she saw there, returned to the FME with a deep frown on her face, pledged to name and shame the contractors involved, but eventually failed to do so before she left office.A source told The Guardian that some of the badly executed projects awarded by the FME were actually handled by contractors nominated or imposed by some past Education ministers. 'That is why they (contractors) can never be named or sanctioned,' the source affirmed.While Wike brought the Head of National Office (HNO) of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Dr Iyi Uwadiae before journalists in Abuja recently, to explain why two different West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results were posted on the council's website last month, the same measure has not been applied in respect of the National Examinations Council (NECO), which also recently released questionable Junior School Certificate Examination (JSCE) results. The council's Registrar, Prof. Promise Okpala admitted recently that there were lapses in the marking of the examination scripts and scoring of candidates, but the FME has not taken the expected strong action against NECO over the serious negligence, which has rendered its certificates worthless.Besides, no sanctions have yet been applied on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which failed to provide writing materials for candidates in the South West, and also brought epileptic biometric systems that failed to function during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Yet, the board has been treated like a sacred cow, which must not be held accountable. Nigerians are wondering whether the FME will keep quiet in the face of the huge sums of tax payers money that had gone down the drain in the two instances, while the two Ministers keep promising that it will not be business as usual. However, it appears the FME is selective in its actions so far.Stakeholders are also wondering why the implementation of the various agreements signed by the Federal Government with the various unions in the tertiary institutions have not always been part Education Ministers' strategic plans. Strikes embarked upon by the unions over the years, including the recent one by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have often rendered the plans useless.However, a statement by Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of State, the FME would, in the coming months, commence the implementation of capacity building schemes for teachers at the basic education level. Wike, the statement averred, has also averred that the National Teachers' Institute (NTI) would be re-positioned to offer long term training for practicing teachers at its facilities in Kaduna, while also carrying out different training programmes for teachers at their respective locations across the country.On Early Child Education and Care (ECCE), Wike, according to the statement, had an interface with the National Executive of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Danish Union of Early Childhood Educators, where the Danish group agreed to collaborate with the FME to develop a coordinated programme that would be extended to the rural communities for enhanced early childhood education. The Minister of State also stated that the FME would liaise with the NUT to ensure that early childhood educators are also incorporated into the union.Besides, the statement revealed that Wike also had a dinner with officials of the British Department for International Development (DFID) and the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN) where he appealed to them to assist Nigeria in building the capacities of its teachers.Ms Babara Payne, DFID's Senior Education Adviser reportedly stated that the British government was about doubling it education aid to Nigeria. Mr. Kayode Sanni, ESSPIN's Deputy Programme manager, also the organisation was already working in six states 'to develop a framework for the revival of the infrastructure of basic education and the development of teachers' capacity.
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