Brilliant Minds

BUILDING A NATION THROUGH EDUCATION Education is normally the acquiring of knowledge as well as the skills that are accepted by a given society. On the other hand, nation-building is the implementation of processes that are geared towards recomposing the nation’s institutions so that they can reflect the wishes, needs and aspirations of the wider society. Since education is the pathway to any nation-building enterprise, it provides the following goodies to nation-building: Firstly, education creates an enlightened society. This is a crucial prerequisite to nation--building because the more a people become enlightened the more they would refrain from doing practices that will endanger the nation-building efforts. For example, educated elites will always tend to be responsive and responsible citizens. By this I mean, they obey state laws and properties. Without this, no nation-building efforts will be set in earnest. Secondly, nation-building requires a ‘meritocratic’ bureaucr...

PMB ON EDUCATION A presidential summit on education was held on November 13, 2017 at the old banquet hall in the State House, Abuja. President Buhari spoke extensively on the state of education. Below are some things he said: 1. President Buhari said: "I want to begin by congratulating the minister of education and the entire education family for setting the stage for this national conversation that is aimed at refocusing the education sector not only to overcome the numerous challenges, but also to strengthen the ministerial strategic plan that has already been developed by the ministry." 2. "We cannot progress beyond the level and standard of our education. Today, it is those who acquire the most qualitative education, equipped with requisite skills and training, and empowered with practical knowhow that are leading the rest. "We cannot afford to continue lagging behind. Education is our launch-pad to a more successful, more productive and more prosperous...

BINGHAM UNIVERSITY: ‘NIGERIA'S POLICY ON EDUCATION IS VERY POOR’ — Prof. Fwa prof. Fwa  Nigerian universities have not had a good outing in world universities ranking because of defective policies in the educational sector. The former Vice Chancellor of Bingham University, Nasarawa State, Prof Samuel Leonard Kursim- Fwa, said that the policy on education is very poor and that these policies are not conducive in our educational system.  Adding to that, he said that political moguls, and influential people in the society have tailored our educational policy towards entrepreneurship. Comparing the Nigerian system with what is obtainable in Singapore, the Vice Chancellor said a lot needs to be changed in the Nigerian educational sector for the good of the society. Their universities are built underground where you find bookshops, info-tech, places for students to exercise and then shower and get back to the classrooms. Still on the contrast...

Nod for CRS, IRS separation  separation of Christian Religious Studies (CRS) and Islamic Religious Studies (IRS) from Religion and National Values in the Basic Education Curriculum has brought relief to stakeholders in the education sector who faulted the merger, reports KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE. Finally, the government has directed the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to disarticulate the Christian Religious Studies (CRS) and Islamic Religious Studies (IRS) from the umbrella subject listing of Religion and National Values. Stakeholders in the education sector have lauded the move as a step in the right direction. The two subjects were lumped together with Civic Education, Social Studies, and Security Education in the reviewed basic education curriculum done in 2013 – with implementation to start from 2014. The decision to merge CRS and IRS with other subjects caused controversy among adherents of the two major religions, in the country, Christ...

PRIMARY EDUCATION: KADUNA STATE TEACHERS FAILS PRIMARY FOUR CERTIFICATION EXAMS Education as the back bone and also the nation builder of any country or society must hold up its right to ensure that children are well learned in every aspect of life so as to be able to cope with the society and the Nation at large. Recently in Nigeria, some teachers have failed to do what is right in tackling and eradicating illiteracy in Nigeria. In Kaduna state, Governor Nasir el-Rufa was shocked as 21,780 out of 33,000 Kaduna states teachers fails primary four exams. These teachers were required to at least have a 75 per cent pass of the examination conducted and to his surprise, it was announce that 66 per cent of them failed to get the requirements. It was concluded that the educational system in the past was politicized as people are being employ into schools due to influential complex not for their academic performances or qualifications as this tend to affect the pupils or students they...