Considering the enormous responsibility of imparting knowledge on people particularly, on young children, teachers are suppose to be the highest salary earners in the country.

ONE of the three main reasons why General (Dr) Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s longest serving military head of state came to deliver the 2nd personality Lecture of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) on Friday, January 21, 2011, was to “share experience on a specific subject matter — education – that has the capacity to advance or derail the Nigerian dream, depending on how it is handled.” The occasion was also the celebration of second year Founder’s Day of ABUAD.

Against the calls of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Staff Unions like the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) as well as the numerous protests, demonstrations and agitations by stakeholders in the education sector for the government to increase funding to education up to UNESCO recommended standard of 26% as a step towards the provision of a free and functional education at all levels, President Jonathan and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) have prepared a budget that totally relegates education to the background while allocating a larger unmerited chunk to the Presidency and the National Assembly.