By Asare Asare The Vice Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Prof. Maduebibisi O. Iwe, has called on the fede...
By Asare Asare
The Vice Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University of
Agriculture, Prof. Maduebibisi O. Iwe, has called on the federal government to
encourage education as much as possible by treating it as the most important
social service.
He warned that if the education sector continues the way it
is, the future of Nigerian children will be at risk.
He spoke in Calabar in an interview with DAILY POST Sunday
after he presented a lecture at the 176th-anniversary celebration of The
Presbyterian Church of Nigeria.
“Federal Government of Nigeria should see and handle
education as a social service. They must embrace and support education
wholeheartedly so that our future generations will not be an ignorant set of
people,” he said.
“We must encourage education. We should know that it is the
baseline for living. We pray and hope that leaders of the country will lend
ears to the demand for more funds to tertiary institutions.”
Iwe took time to stress that poor funding has drastically
affected the agricultural sector, especially the universities and colleges of
agriculture.
“Funding is what the Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) is asking for universities.
“Funding shouldn’t only be in the area of human capacity
development but produce capacity,” he added.
The various universities of agriculture have not achieved
the desired impact due to a lack of proper funding, which reason the country is
not at par with other agric powers in the world.
“We can achieve that when funds are channeled to
universities, particularly those specialising in agriculture. Agric sector
needs substantial funds. In the last three years, many farms have collapsed.
“In the mid-1980s, the country established three varsities
of agriculture so that there would be the desire by all to plant, harvest,
process, package, and export to global markets. I doubt that the country has
achieved those objectives because we still rely on importation,” he added.
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