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       #Post#: 181--------------------------------------------------
       Keeping 10.5 Million Kids Out Of School,Dangerous —Educationist
       By: Ebenezer Date: August 16, 2013, 7:32 am
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       A member of the Board of Governors,
       Thames Valley International College, Sagamu-
       Ikorodu Road, Ogun State, Mr. Babatunde
       Kolade, has said that the high number of
       children of school age outside the nation’s
       school system portends a grave danger for
       the nation.
       The United Nations Educational, Scientific
       and Cultural Organisation, in a report
       released in March, this year, claimed that an
       estimated 61 million children of primary
       school age are being denied their right to
       education globally.
       UNESCO claimed that 10.5 million of these
       children residents in Nigeria were denied
       access to basic education in the country.
       But Kolade, speaking during the unveiling of
       the new private college on Wednesday, said
       children who fall into this category could
       become a burden to the society as they
       could be exposed to some kinds of training
       that would not be beneficial to the country.
       He said, “It’s a grave danger to have one out
       of 10 of the country’s population out of
       school. This means the skills to be used in
       the future are being wasted. Then, who
       provides the needed skills and manpower,
       when this generation is gone?”
       Underscoring the importance of education
       to national development, he called for
       cooperation between the government and
       the private sector.
       Kolade, who said the college was a private
       initiative to support the government’s effort
       in providing qualitative education to the
       citizenry, added that it was unfortunate that
       the nation had no clear-cut philosophy on
       education, hence the inconsistency in
       policies.
       “I am worried that the country has no
       philosophy on education. There is nobody
       that has come up to defend or present the
       nation’s education philosophy. Education
       development starts from the philosophy of
       the government on education.
       “What kind of education do we need? Until
       the country develops a philosophy on
       education, we would not make progress, “
       he noted.
       Kolade described some investors in
       education services and founders of schools
       as Shylocks and opportunists, adding that
       they capitalise on the rot in the public school
       system.
       Rather than compounding the educational
       challenges confronting the nation, such
       investors should partner with other
       stakeholders to move the sector forward, he
       noted.
       He said that private investors in education
       had jointly invested over N500bn in
       secondary and tertiary education in the last
       13 years.
       Kolade, who said the college would take off
       in September with pupils in Junior
       Secondary School 1 and 2 and Senior
       Secondary School 1, emphasised constant
       training for teachers for them to be relevant
       and impact the pupils positively in their
       academics.
       He said examination malpractice had
       continued to thrive because the government
       had not made anyone a scapegoat through
       prosecution.
       “Examination malpractice has continued to
       thrive because the government has not used
       anyone as a scapegoat through prosecution
       of offenders caught in the act. This has
       emboldened some parents to involve
       themselves in such crime,” he noted.
       The Ogun State commissioner for Education,
       Mr. Olusegun Odubela, who commended the
       governing board of the college for the
       provision of what he described as standard
       infrastructure including lecture theatres,
       sporting facilities, hostel accommodation,
       and Internet facilities, said the state
       government would support the school in
       every area needed.
       He said the state government was already
       discussing with the Federal Government on
       the deplorable condition of Sagamu-Ikorodu
       Road, and if given approval, the state would
       commence reconstruction work on it.
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