BY IKENNA ASOMBA

Irked by the worrisome challenges posed by the nation’s dwindling education sector, Founder and Senior Pastor, House on the Rock Church, Victoria Island, Lagos, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, has affirmed that the standards will continue to nosedive if incompetent leaders continue to manage the affairs of education sector.

Adefarasin made this assertion while conducting journalists on a tour of facilities at the newly completed Rock Cathedral, which now houses the headquarters of the church and The Rock Foundation.

Pastor Adefarasi

According to him, the church is  doing everything within its power to improve standard of education through its foundation.

“As part of our effort to contribute towards nation-building through the provision of specialized training for children and youths, The Rock Foundation will run four educational systems.

“These are primary school, an adult education centre, a skills acquisition centre and a Bible College, and each will provide quality learning at par with what is obtainable in developed climes. They will run a robust curriculum that promotes the underlying guiding principles of stewardship, integrity, diversity, empowerment and social responsibility, all of which are required to build a strong nation.

“If the right, uncompromising and competent leaders who have the capacity, burden and propriety to discharge public service are not produced by our leadership system, then it will continue to spell doom, especially in the education sector.

“It’s high time our leadership system was made unattractive for people who don’t want to serve. Perhaps, this boils down to the restructuring of our justice system, considering its role in true democratic governance, so that at least people who are corrupt in public offices will be brought to book.”

He added that the insecurity crisis rocking the northern part of the country could also be traced to government’s insensitivity to empowering the masses through qualitative education and vocational skills.

To address these challenges, Adefarasin suggested that people who have continued to fail to fix the nation’s problem should never be allowed to occupy public office again.

“Once the masses can be educated and enlightened, there would be a robust economy and non-performing leaders can then be questioned because the standards would have been raised higher, where service delivery becomes of top importance to public office holders, because they have no reason not to perform.”