By Emmanuel Elebeke
Managing Director and Chief Executive of Galaxy Backbone, Engr. Gerald Ilukwe has called for a holistic and total overhaul of the Nigeria’s ICT policy on education to help the country achieve its Vision 20 2020 objectives.

Ilukwe who made the call last week, during a one day seminar organized by the Old Boys Association of Ughelli Government College, Delta State, to mark its 65th anniversary in Lagos said Nigeria can not make any meaningful and significant improvement in development without first addressing the inadequacies contained in its ICT policy on education, which he said had kept the education system in the country undeveloped.

Delivering a paper entitled “Nigeria’s Educational System in the Internet Age”, the guest speaker, Engr. Ilukwe, noted that for the nation to move forward, there was need to blend internet into the educational system to make the system conform with the international standards and also help in empowering the citizenry.

Ilukwe described ICT as the bedrock of development and key in modern education, called for a complete paradigm shift in Nigerian education system and policy formulation, and described internet and education as two equalizer that are required in building a nation.

He insisted that ICT must be accorded its priority place in the scheme of things for any government policy to have meaning and make impact on the citizenry.

Appraising the nation’s education policy approach, Ilukwe expressed dismay over the nation’s policy approach in IT and education and called for government intervention and new policy guidelines that would drive the IT policies on education to conform with the world best practices.

Itemising the major constraints militating against contract execution, the Galaxy boss pointed poor funding and lack of project monitoring called for continuity of projects and absolute commitment in the monitoring of projects to achieve greater results, maintaining that unless the government effect change in the education curriculum and its perception on ICT, the country’s development will continue to be under threat in view of the incredible advances being made in other countries.

In his remarks, former military Governor of Imo and Lagos States, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu Rtd, said Nigeria had no reason to remain underdeveloped amidst the modern technological tools that could transform the economy.

He urged the Government to leverage on the growing ICT knowledge to stabilise the knowledge base of the economy. AS the nation approaches next general elections with uncertainties Kanu called for application of technology to demystify the perennial problems associated to previous elections in the country.

Earlier in his welcome address, the President General of Old Boys Association of Ughelli Government College, Delta State, Mr. Godwin Adokpaye, called for a revolutionary change and approach to the Nigeria’s ICT policy on education to address the nation’s development problem. This to him, will also help to address the increasing fall in the standards of education in Nigeria.

He regretted that the education system in Nigeria had fallen far below acceptable standard, lamenting the slow rate of ICT penetration, saying they were twin maladies that can ruin an economy.

He said that it was the realisation of the danger the nation faced with such unfortunate developments that ignited the passion of the association in weaving the theme of the anniversary around the benefits of marrying a vibrant ICT sector with a sound education system.

Adokpaye said that a very clear sign of worry over the things to come, was how the education system was suffering such incredible setbacks despite the rich deposit of resources in the country and the large population of the country.

“Education system in the country has suffered incredible setbacks and standards have fallen and keeps falling. I think that enough is enough to that.

In fact, it is proper and apt at this point in time for our leaders and all stakeholders to begin to address the system, so as to conform with the desired standards as well as the population stature of Nigeria. We think that all stakeholders should prevail now on policy makers to use ICT to remodel our education system,” said the President.