The Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, is known to many in the sector. He has an impressive resume, rising from being a teacher to a permanent secretary in the Kano State Ministry of Education years before he became governor. With his appointment last week, stakeholders expect him to bring his experience to bear on his new job, report KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE, ADEUGUNLE OLUGBAMILA and KOLADE ADEYEMI.
Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau is the 45th minister of education. His appointment is coming at a critical time. The Federal Government is about implementing its agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU); negotiating with the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) and the National Association of non-Academic Staff Union of Tertiary and Allied Institutions. Other issues are the abduction of over 200 girls from the Government Secondary School (GSS) in Chibok, Borno State, on April 15; and the number of out-of-school children estimated to be 10.5 million by the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The figure is set to be the highest in the world.
Following his appointment, stakeholders are expecting changes based on his antecedents as an educationist and achievements as Governor of Kano State between 2003 and 2011.
Shekarau had his Qu’ranic, primary and secondary education in Kano before studying Mathematics at the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria , Kaduna State in 1977.
After one year as a teacher, he was made a principal in 1979. He served as Deputy Director of Education in the Kano State Ministry of Education (1992), Director (1993), and Permanent Secretary (1995). He also headed different departments in the Ministry of Water Resources, Office of the Secretary to the State Government and the Civil Service Commission.
When he became governor in 2003, Shekarau is credited to have removed Kano State from the list of Educationally Less Developed (ELD) states through the provision of instructional materials, infrastructure and manpower to schools and scholarships for 33,000 undergraduates studying in various institutions nationwide.
Kano before 2003 had 3,421 primary schools, 20,526 classrooms, 1, 026,300 pupils with 22,084 teachers. After Shekarau came in, enrolment improved by 80 per cent. The Shekarau government also established additional 364 primary and 241 secondary schools.
Mallam Musa Salihu, who worked as the Kano State Commissioner for Education during Shekarau’s tenure as governor (2007- 2011), said the new minister was aware of the issues in the sector and addressed them squarely.
As minister, Salihu said Shekarau needs to address the challenge of teacher quality.
He said: “Today in Nigeria, the general problem is how to produce devoted and committed teachers, it is very unfortunate that the old teachers college were scrapped. Those who did it did not know the importance of the programme. Today when you enroll young ones into teaching profession, most of them do not have interest because the foundation was not there. So the new minister has to address how we can have a regular flow of competent and qualified teachers, so that at the end, we can achieve the benefit and to also tackle the issue urgently by taking drastic action.”
Mallam Musa Salihu also said Shekarau should also intervene with private schools, which, he said, are exploiting parents with high fees. He advocates they should be assessed regularly, while the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) should establish harmonious working environment between the government and the private sector.
Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Education, Prof Offiong E. Offiong, said Shekarau should endeavour to carry all states along when implementing policies to ensure success.
“There is need to carry all states along in ensuring total and holistic transformation,” he said.
Offiong also said Nigeria should settle the out-of-school problem once and for all by conducting its own investigation.
“The out-of-Sschool phenomenon should be tackled. Also there is lack of reliable data. For instance 10.6 million Nigerians out of school is speculative. This has been a problem facing the sector. There is need to address this. We need to get the data. This has led to the inability to accommodate all in our efforts to give Nigerian children qualitative education,” he said.
Executive Secretary, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), Mr Olawumi Gasper, urges the minister to spare some thought for Technical and Vocational Education (TVE). He described as erroneous, the present focus on tertiary education and advocates that the education environment be configured to support innovations.
However, for TVE to succeed, Gasper said that the Federal Government should strengthen basic education.
“We are focusing too much on tertiary education, which is unnecessary. University graduates will not create jobs. Job creation will come from young boys with brilliant ideas. That is why we need to strengthen basic education. Basic education needs attention. That is the bedrock of education. Once we get it right, everything will follow,” he said.
Regarding the polytechnics, the National ASUP President, Dr Chibuzor Asomugha, said though the union has though suspended its 11-month old strike, members expect Shekarau to address their grievances without delay.
The demands of the union that led to the strike include: an end to the discrimination against polytechnic graduates in the public service and in the labour market; release of the White Paper on the Visitations to Federal Polytechnics; implementation of CONTISS 15 migration for the Lower cadres and its arrears as from 2009; establishment of a National Polytechnics Commission (NPC) as a regulatory body for Polytechnics.
Others are: review of the Polytechnic Act; improved funding of the Polytechnic sub-sector and equitable disbursements of TETfund grants among universities, polytechnics and colleges of education; appointments of qualified persons only from the polytechnic sector as rectors and provost of polytechnics, monotechnics and college of technologies, implementation of 65-year retirement age for lecturers in polytechnics, monotechnics and college of technologies, and the re-negotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUP Agreement as agreed.
Though Asomugha is not optimistic much can be achieved by Shekarau considering the little time left before the end of the current administration, nonetheless, Asomugha said ASUP expects him to lay a solid foundation for his successor to build on.
He said: “It will be unrealistic to expect too much from the minister considering the brief period that he has before the end of his regime. Factor is also the enormous responsibility he is faced with in the education sector.
“It will be reasonable for him to try and lay solid foundations for Nigeria education, a practicable roadmap, devoid of cosmetics of the past, especially with regards to technical and vocational education. So far he has shown satisfactory understanding of the critical importance of technical and vocational education and has pledged to give it requisite attention. It will be necessary for him to involve critical on-ground operators of the system in fashioning out a sustainable platform for raising standards in our polytechnics.”
The National President College of Education Acacdemic Staff Union (COEASU) said Shekarau’s pedigree makes him look promising but warned him not to negatively influenced.
“He looks promising. From his background, he appears to be having a listening ear, and like the kind who will approach issues without bias. But my fear is if he will not allow himself to be influenced by those bad eggs in the ministry,” he said.
The Southwest Coordinator, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Dr Adeshola Nasir, said Shekarau should convene an education summit where challenges in the sector would be addressed.
“It is not only about understanding the sector, but being able to implement sound education programmes in Nigeria. ASUU has repeatedly said education is declining with respect to poor funding, poor infrastructures and all that, and that government should call education summit involving stakeholders that will harvest opinions that will launch Nigeria among the comity of nations. Government needs not wait any further. The time to act is now and any positions arising there from should be passed by the new minister to government for onward implementation,” Nasir said.
On his part, the first National Vice-President, All Nigerian Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), Mr Abayomi Adegunle, feels Shekarau’s designations as a technocrat and former governor would help him ward off any likely challenges from the ministry or any pollutants.
He urged Shekarau to see to the passage of the Secondary School Commission bill.
He said: “He is a well grounded principal. He was also a former national president of ANCOPSS for four years. So he knows the rudiment of education because he has passed through the stages, Adegunle contended.
“However, we expect him to press for the actualisation of the Secondary School Commission bill which is before the National Assembly. He should also ensure that professionalism among teachers in both primary and secondary school nationwide is henceforth more practical-oriented that theoretical. Above all, the he should ensure the implementation of the 27.5 Teachers Salary Scheme.”
