ASUU strike: Reps to host  2-day reform summit on tertiary education

Jonas Ezieke Abuja.

Owing to the eight months old strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU, that was called off last month, the House of Representatives is working tirelessly to organise a 2-day summit on tetiary education reform in Nigeria with a view to finding lasting solutions to these incessant strikes and other issues retarding progress in this very crucial sector in Nigeria says the Speaker Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.

Gbajabiamila announced this in an opening speech on Monday at the National Assembly during the resumption of plenary session by the House lawmakers after the recess for defense of the N20.5 trillion budget of the federal government at the House Committees by Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs.

The Speaker said that the Committees  had been working on the 2023 Budget ensuring the final budget serves the needs of the  people of Nigeria and meets the development objectives of our communities across the country.

He noted that the legislators are also working to ensure that, in line with the reforms of the 9th Assembly, they have a final bill ready for presidential assent before the end of the year.

He said: “It is not an easy task to deliver an implementable budget at a time of significant financial limitations.  The limited time available for budget consideration and the demands of the fast-approaching national elections further complicate the picture.

“However, I am confident that members of the House are alive to our responsibilities and will deliver our objectives in good time and to the benefit of our country”.

The number four citizen of Nigeria further said that the House ‘ll continue to work to meet the green chamber’s legislative agenda commitments across all other priority areas.

According to him, as part of the efforts, the House will convene a National Summit on Tertiary Education Reform on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 22nd and 23rd of November 2022.

The Summit he further stated is an opportunity to begin the long overdue national conversation about the future of public tertiary education in Nigeria.

Renowned and very sound scholars, tertiary education administrators, and local and international stakeholders have been invited to submit papers on the theme of the Summit,.

The stakeholders brainstorming session with the theme: “Reimagining Tertiary Education in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Solutions”, and other sub-themes provided in a call for memoranda is expected to profer solutions to the crisis in Nigeria education sector.

The presentations and submissions according to the House speaker will inform the policy recommendations of the Summit and be published in a Journal for policy action and academic reference.  So far public interest both within and outside Nigeria has been impressive.

The most consequential decisions we make in government are those that will ensure the vast population of young people in our country are educated and adequately equipped to participate productively in the modern global economy.

At the summit, education experts lawmkers and the academics must ask and answer complex questions about the operating structure of our public tertiary institutions, sustainable funding, education quality and access.

Gbajabiamila appeals to all the 359 other members of the House to participate in this crucial national conversation so that their experiences, expertise and concerns will inform the policy recommendations that emerge from the summit.