The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has supported the call for the declaration of a state of emergency in the education sector.
Speaking on Wednesday, The Chairman of the NGF, Gov. Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman of Kwara disclosed this on Wednesday, saying resources must be provided for sustainable and promising education.
The governor was speaking at the National Conference on the Learning Crisis in Nigeria in Abuja, organised by the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund, has the theme: “Scaling Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in Nigeria.”
Represented by the Vice Chairman of NGF, Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Abdulrahman said education is in crisis and a state of emergency should be declared in the sector.
He stressed the need to remove all barriers such as gender, poverty, location, disabilities, language and ethnicity, that could hinder children from accessing foundational literacy and numeracy.
“We must follow the UNESCO standard for an education system that is progressive and sustainable, Governors at the various states must commit above 15 per cent of our budget to education.
“I support the call for a state of emergency but it must be backed by actions, the resources must be provided and we must look at issues that have mitigated against achieving that sustainable growth.
“It is one thing to declare a state of emergency but it’s another thing to put all the resources and elements that will allow us to achieve it.
“So I support putting the resources in place to allow us to move fast at it. Our education is in crisis and a state of emergency should be declared in all sectors. We need a solid roadmap and I believe it is a collective involvement,” he said.
