AN Education expert, Mr Anselm Izuagie, has advised the Federal Government to place emphasis on developing secondary school education in Nigeria in order to properly develop other levels of education.

Izuagie, who is the National President, Association of National Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPS), gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday.

“Government needs to ensure that the secondary education sector is properly funded and well-developed, as this will ensure proper functioning of the primary as well as the tertiary education sectors.

“Secondary schools act as intermediary between the primary and the tertiary institutions, which underscores the importance of secondary education.

“Pupils from primary schools need the secondary schools to advance their education, while the tertiary institutions need the secondary schools to admit new students yearly, ‘’ he said.

Izuagie advised government to show increased commitment to developing education for improved efficiency, citing issues like low level manpower, inadequate infrastructure, among others, as causes of the low standard of education in Nigeria.

“The standard of education in Nigeria is still commendable. The rate of development of an average Nigerian child is high and our standard of appreciating education is high.

“The level of commitment of governments to education and implementation of education policies have fallen and the Federal Government needs to address these.

“There are issues of low level of manpower, inadequate infrastructure, politicising of education and indiscriminate approvals of private schools.

“All these should be addressed if government is serious about improving the standard of education in Nigeria,’’ he said.

Izuagie advised the Federal Government to set up a Curriculum Department in the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure periodic review of the education curriculum.

“The ministry of education is supposed to have a curriculum department that will ensure that the school curriculum is reviewed at five-year intervals.

“The school’s curriculum is an integral aspect of education and its periodic review should be taken more seriously,’’ he advised.

NAN reports that Izuagie is also the principal of Saint John’s Boys Secondary School, Fugar, Edo. (NAN)

– Jul. 4, 2018 @ 14:05 GMT |