The Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) has advised the incoming President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the personality of a person he should appoint as a minister of education.
The union said Nigeria as a country cannot again afford to put a non-competent person in charge of the education ministry if the country is truly ready to achieve meaningful economic progress.
The National President of the Union, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, gave the advice in an exclusive interview with Tribune Online, listing some qualities such an individual would need to possess.
Osodeke is just re-elected to serve for a second and final term as president of ASUU.
According to him, there are lots of issues ranging from poor funding, decaying infrastructures, poor remuneration and welfare, libraries, laboratories and so forth that need to be fixed in public schools.
He said only somebody who is competent and expert, who also understands the sector and its great value to the economy fits for the job.
He said such a person must be innovative and also be patriotic and believes in Nigeria’s educational system by ensuring that their direct family members either as children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren are studying in Nigerian public schools at least during their tenure of office.
He said it would be unwise for Tinubu to appoint a minister whose direct family members are abroad studying and be going to them to take photographs and be celebrating such on social media.
He said somebody who would be getting direct feedback from their relations about the happenings particularly in the public school system locally would perform well as a minister of education.
He said the era of politicising education and giving lip service to the sector by the political leaders are gone, except the country still wants to remain backwards in the comity of nations.
“So, a university don would be well-suited for the job,” he declared.
Osodeke noted that the country has so many renowned scholars and administrators in the public university system, emphasising that appointing a minister of education on the basis of party affiliation and not on competence will further plunge Nigeria’s education system into a deep mess.
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