How COVID-19 changed narrative of Education Sector in 2021

In 2021, COVID-19 brought about many changes in the country and the education sector was not left out.

Students from primary to tertiary institutions were forced to learn from home due to the pandemic as they adopted digital teaching and learning, which changed the narratives for the sector.

This necessitated the Federal Government coming up with some initiatives that encouraged students at all levels to have access to digital devices such as computers, laptops and some e-learning websites to be developed.

The launching of a free e-learning website known as inspire.education.gov.ng for all levels of education to allow for easy learning access, by the Federal Ministry of Education is a good example.

A public affairs analyst and social advocate, Mr Carl Umegboro, in evaluating the education sector in 2021 commended some of the innovations adopted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, the innovations by the Federal Ministry of Education are capable of changing the narratives in the sector in the future, if consolidated.

The approval of new universities by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to accommodate the growing population of youths seeking to be admitted into tertiary institutions was another high point in 2021.

"This intervention will go a long way to accommodate the high population of people willing to advance their education and this will reduce the usual frustrations being faced by prospective undergraduates.

"Frustrated students and parents unfortunately resort to bribery and lobbying for admissions because of the difficulties in being admitted into higher institutions," he said.

Another achievement was the call for the harmonisation of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for effective skills development in the country.

Stakeholders applauded the move, saying it would enable participants gain better insight into skills acquisition and be able to have the much needed support for their start-ups.

The Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukuemeka Nwajiuba said the harmonisation would not only produce proficient and employable youths but could also produce youths with capacity to provide employment to others.

"The signing of memorandum of understanding between the Federal Ministry of Education and other federal ministries on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for quality skill acquisitions that will enhance youth employment is also a remarkable attainment.

"If the policy is robustly promoted and sustained, it will lead to radical national development through accelerated human capital development by providing lifelong learning opportunities for the youths as practiced in many developed nations of the world.''

In 2021, plans were also underway to begin Teachers Exchange Programme with the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy to develop digital literacy capacity of teachers in the country.

Nwajiuba said the Federal Ministry of Education was working out details with the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy to use digital bridge institutes across the six geo-political zones to enhance the computer knowledge of the Nigerian teachers.

In view of this, he said that Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) had been mandated to work with the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) to activate the One Teacher, One Computer programme for effective e-teaching and e-learning.

As a result, he said the Federal Ministry of Education was enabling laptop vendors to sell to teachers and put arrangement in place for them to pay in installments within two to four years.

"We are working in collaboration with the ministry of communication and digital economy to do exchange programmes with teachers to use the digital bridge institutes that had already been built by the Federal Ministry of Communication and we are still working on the details.

"The Federal Ministry of Education will enable laptop vendors to vend to teachers and we will give them a period of two to four years to complete the payment.

"We have finished carrying out interviews for the vendors; we just want the NUT and TRCN to conclude arrangements," he said.

The Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, also commended the harmonisation ITF and NDE for effective skills development in the country.

He said that the both bodies were duplicating functions which was not allowing them to focus on the mandates they were set up for.

He called for urgent introduction of apprenticeship training under the Nigeria Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) across the country right from technical colleges.

"The ITF and NDE are duplicating functions and are losing focus from their original earlier mandates.''

Another issue during the year under review was the way the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government tackled the demands of the union to prevent strikes and this was a positive development.

The National President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Mr Sunday Asefon called on the Federal Government to intensify actions toward meeting the demands of ASUU without resorting to industrial actions.

Asefon, who said there was need for a common ground to avoid strikes, pleaded with ASUU to also consider the interest of the students at the centre of their negotiations.

"You will recall that the last industrial action embarked on by ASUU remains the longest in the history of tertiary education in Nigeria.

"Since the inception of this democratic dispensation in 1999, ASUU now went on accumulated strike for over five years.

"This development is not only worrisome, but it also portends great danger to the education sector, national development, research, and security in Nigeria," he said.

Another issue that was brought to the front burner in 2021 was the repositioning and appropriate budgeting for the sector.

Stakeholders decried the paltry 5.6 per cent budgeted for the sector in 2021, saying that such a low budget was not capable of repositioning the sector.

However, in 2022, a budget of N1.29 trillion of 7.7 per cent was allocated to the sector, again falling short of the expectations of stakeholders.

The National Moderator, Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA), Mr Babatunde Omole called for stakeholders' partnership with key state actors toward repositioning the education sector.

Omole said that it was not only important to clamour for 20 per cent allocation of budget to education but it was paramount to look inward to ensure that the little allocated was used judiciously.

"Education is not something that we converge and talk about extensively without taking it seriously.

"There is no way we can do this if we do not reposition ourselves as key players to move the nation's educational sector forward.

"We are clamouring for 20 per cent allocation of the budget to education but we need to look inward on how we are guiding state actors to ensure the little allocated are extensively used.

"We need to refocus on our outcome and impact positively. It does not matter the huge amount invested into education but what matters is how impactful the amount will be," he said.

Omole said that there was need to begin to consider the challenges in terms of education resources to meet indicators of global education.

Similarly, Mrs Ene Obi, the Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, said that the future of Nigeria lied in the quality of its education, saying it was the major driver of socio-economic development.

Obi however called for increased domestic financing for a strong public, inclusive and resilient education system in Nigeria.

She pleaded with the Federal Government to rise to the challenge of increased insecurity, especially as it affected educational institutions across the country.

On infrastructure, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Sen. Ahmed Kaita, reaffirmed the commitment of using legislation with the aim of improving and rejuvenating the deployment of infrastructure in the educational institutions.

Kaita said that the committee was determined to partner with stakeholders in ensuring equality within the system for the betterment of humanity.

However, stakeholders in the sector agreed that the modest achievements recorded in the sector in 2021, was as a result of harmonious relationship between the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu and the Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.

The stakeholder said the ministers worked together to ensure that the sector remained functional in spite of the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Mrs Rose Onuegbu, an educationist said little could have been achieved if not for the unity of purpose between both ministers, which trickled down to the workforce, positively affecting the sector.

In her words, "although 2021 was a year full of challenges for the education sector due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic, to low funding, insecurity and lack of learning infrastructure, there is still hope that things will pick up this year.''