Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has called on
stakeholders in the education sector to evolve better teaching and learning
techniques that will address contemporary challenges confronting societies in
modern times.
Prof. Osinbajo stated this earlier today while receiving a
delegation from the West African Examination Council (WAEC), led by its
chairperson, Dr Evelyn Kandakai at the Presidential Villa. The Council holds
its 65th annual
meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
Also present at the meeting with the Vice President were
the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu and the Minister of State for
Education, Prof. Anthony Anwukah.
According to Osinbajo, ``lately, it has become obvious
that we have to make more of our young people to be more entrepreneurial in
their approach to everything.’’
Prof. Osinbajo said ``It is interesting that we have found
ourselves, especially those of us in this part of the world at this time,
trying very hard to work out educational systems that is relevant to our
people, (and) the requirements of our people.
``Obviously our initial contributions in this sector were
inherited from colonial times but it is becoming more evident anyway that we
must chart our own course in education and I know that it is a challenge that
we face regularly.’’
He said the focus of educators should be on ``the kind of
subjects, and the kind of teachings that challenge critical thinking and being
creative, thinking out of the box’’.
The Vice President added that ``it is even more so now
than ever before with technology, there is a need for us to meet the
requirements of our people.’’
Prof. Osinbajo charged educators to find solutions to
society’s contemporary challenges, noting that the political class’
responsibility is to ``throw the challenge to the educators and hope that they
will be able to give some form of direction as to where society should be
heading to.’’
The Vice President commended the present WAEC Council and
management for maintaining the institution’s status as the foremost
sub-regional examination body which has maintained its standards and quality
for many decades.
The chairperson of WAEC, Dr Evelyn Kandakai, had earlier
thanked the Vice President for the reception, noting that Nigeria is a big
pillar of support to WAEC in all its years of existence.
(54 percent of the institution’s financial burden is borne
by Nigeria.)
Dr Kandakai said whatever height the examination body had
attained over the years was made possible by Nigeria’s immense contributions
both in human and material resources, submitting that WAEC and the West African
sub-region remained hugely indebted to Nigeria.
WAEC is a sub-regional educational institution composed of
Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
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