How new Education Minister can succeed, by Olayanju

FOR the current crop of managers at the Federal Ministry of Education to succeed, they must be prepared to adopt a completely different approach, according to Mr. Benson Olayanju, the Chief Executive
Officer of The Valiants Educational Consultants Limited.

This is because, he reasoned, the challenges facing the sector are so enormous that few individuals alone cannot effectively tackle them. Although Olayanju, who spoke in an interview with The Guardian,
expressed confidence in the new team of Dr. Sam Egwu (Minister), Hajia Aishatu Dukku (Minister of State) and Dr. Goke Adegoroye (Permanent Secretary), he insisted that the team would need assistance from all
stakeholders to succeed. Part of the strategy that the new team must adopt, he counseled, is that "it must consult widely." Olayanju described as sad, the brushing aside of the "well conceived" reform agenda put in place by former education minister, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili by the ministers who took over immediately after her, affirming that the decision escalated the problems of the sector. He stated that while funding remained a challenge in the education sector, attracting extra funds for the private sector had become
imperative.

The only way to do this, he submitted, "is through the Private Public Partnership Initiative."
He continued: "Our present dysfunctional education system contributed immensely to the level of poverty and unemployment in the country. It is estimated that well over 80 per cent of our youths are unemployed
while about 65 per cent of the employed are actually underemployed due to lack of functional education system. "There is an urgent need to restructure the nation's school curriculum to empower learners with the knowledge and skills needed to convert the nation's abundant resources into goods and services needed at home and abroad. Well over 15 million Nigerian children of primary and secondary school age are today out of school. Year in year out, less than 12 per cent of qualified applicants are admitted into the various
higher institutions, while the remaining are roaming the streets.

"Throughout the world today, there is new recognition of the role of functional entrepreneurial and technical vocational skill education in the economic development of nations. The driving force for a functional and dynamic education sector in any nation has become Private Public Partnership. No ministry or government can do it alone.

 The private and public must strike the right collaboration cord for the sector to move forward.
"Recognising and appreciating the importance of the private sector participation in planning, execution, funding and infrastructure development by the advanced countries have contributed greatly to
their rapid growth and economic development. This can only happen in Nigeria if the ministry will be ready to demonstrate a strong commitment in terms of preventing delays in the implementation and grant of approvals in order for projects to succeed, and remain on schedule. "Involving the private sector stakeholders will not only help to move it forward, but will also enhance the rapid development of the sector. Adopting the Private Public Participation (PPP) initiative will further expose the limitless possibilities in co-operation if diligently coordinated. The job of rebuilding our education sector requires a coordinated effort involving the whole spectrum of stakeholders both in Nigeria and in Diaspora."