The Minister of State for Education, Rt. Hon. Goodluck Nanah Opiah, Tuesday advocated for effective and sustainable funding mechanisms for higher education in the country.
Special aide to the Minister on Media and Public Affairs, Kelechi Mejuobi, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja.
Opiah, the former federal lawmaker and Minister, explained that the periodic low funding facing tertiary institutions could be addressed when sustainable funding mechanisms are built into the system.
In his words, ” funding of our tertiary institutions is undoubtedly the underlying reason for their decline, and it is very apposite that we begin to seek effective and sustainable funding mechanisms for our tertiary institutions.
“It should be noted that at the inception of this administration in 2015, the federal ministry of education under the leadership of Mallam Adamu Adamu, initiated a consultative group of experts, professionals and international development partners and other relevant stakeholders to discuss the key issues and challenges of the education sector, and, chart a way forward.
“The main objective of this initiative was to reform the education sector in general. The outcome was presented as Education for Change, a Ministerial Strategic Plan (MSP).
“The MSP articulates a pathway to reposition Nigeria’s education sector to effectively play its central role in achieving development agenda.
“The plan is built on ten pillars and around three result areas – access, quality and systems strengthening.
“A comprehensive focus of the plan is on tertiary sub-education with well-defined objectives and strategies for implantation”.
