Former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja has assured the people of the state that Engineer Seyi Makinde’s renewed effort in the education sector in the state will soon yield positive results.
Senator Ladoja made this known at a public presentation of series of books titled ‘history and leadership education for primary and secondary schools in Nigeria’ authored by the president of Reading Awareness Society for Development in Africa (RASDA),Mrs Bukola Ladoja, held at the Banquet Hall, Premier Hotel, Ibadan, on Monday.
The occasion was also used to mark the 75th birthday of Senator Ladoja chaired by Emeritus Professor of history, Bolanle Awe.
The former governor who started by saying “let’s make education what it should be- free and accessible, and that is what the present government is trying to do”, urged Governor Makinde to aim higher in his bid to return the glory of education to pacesetting status in the state.
According to him: “it was sad that our state was constantly coming last in the southern Nigerian in the WAEC ratings, and it’s not difficult to change. I can assure you that by the time Ok we had the next WAEC, with what the present government is putting in place, we’ll do much better than states that had been beaten us.
“Between 2003-2007, we were second on the rating behind Katsina, state of finer president Yar’Adua. With this pace and within a short time, Oyo state should move from 27 to a unit position. I am not expecting us to jump to number one, but at least number five.”
The deputy governor of the state who represented the state governor, Engineer Rauf Olaniyan assured the author of government support in projecting the book to boost the leadership talent in pupils.
He also put it on record that the current administration led by Governor Makinde having got wind of the quality of the book will make an approach to the author on how pupils in the state can benefit from the package.
Professor Awe described the occasion as “historic” stressing that “a lot of our history is lost today, especially the type which we should be proud today. She commended the author for the initiative.”
The author, Mrs Ladoja said: “Education in Nigeria truly needs funding. But apart from funding, there is a direct relationship between what you pay for and the result you get from it.
“Government need to decide on what education policy it is adopting and drive it. But then, all the stakeholders in education, including parents, teachers, government and even the students need to come together to brainstorm.
“If they can all come together, they will change the state of education in this country. There is a need for a change of attitude by all the stakeholders.
“We need to refocus our educational curriculum because a whole lot of things are wrong with it. Our current curriculum places more emphasis on developing the children’s brains and not their minds.”
