Worried by the number of out of school children as well as poor budgetarty allocation to the education sector, a group, Transforming D’ Intellectual Firmament of Africa-Community Development Initiative (TiFA-CDI) has urged the Federal government to immediately declare a state of emergency in basic education across Nigeria.

Taiwo Akerele, TiFA-CDI Executive Director while speaking in Abuja on Wednesday 

called on the government to roll out periodic incentives for parents of out of school children to boost their psychological and economic morale.

Akerele, who spoke during the inauguration of the TiFA CDI board of trustees, urged the government to accelerate steps towards securing schools across the most vulnerable parts of Nigeria.

Akerele said the Federal Government must look inwards in trying to find solutions to the challenges confronting the education sector, stressing that the so – called development partners working in sub-Saharan African don’t have the solution to the continents multiple social and ethical problems.

He said: “We own the solutions to our problems. Until we realise that Africa is a second thought on the priority list  to the EU, the US and other so called partners we will continue to wait in vain. They have their own problems to solve hence we must get our priorities right and set a sustainable path towards quick recovery and development”

He explained that the organization has decided to dedicate its core mission to basic education and its associated value chain.

According to him, this is because education remains the bedrock upon which a society is built, however the policy action of stakeholders in the educational ecosystem doesn’t seem to suggest a support for this popular assertion.

To underscore the argument of lack of government commitment towards advancing positive educational policies in Nigeria, the budgeting architecture does not support stakeholder clamor for a well-funded educational system.

He argued that on the average, entire budget for education remains under 5% cumulatively way below the UNESCO recommendation of at least 20%, curriculum remain stale, and insecurity remains an issue while incentive for teachers remain debatable and there is growing apprehension amongst parents on the propriety of sending their kids to schools.

He said, “It is on this note that the Transforming D Intellectual Firmament of Africa (TiFA) and its successor organization Policy House has secured relevant approvals to inaugurate its trustees to pursue amongst others the following outlined objectives:

“To advocate for a responsible and sustainable budgeting system in Nigeria with special focus on basic education and with special emphasis in the educationally disadvantaged areas of the country.

“To roll out periodic incentives for parents of out of school children and boost their psychological and economic morale while keying into existing government programs to ensure effective results and impact.”

The TiFA-CDI boss said the organisation is therefore demanding that the government  embarks on a comprehensive and radical educational curriculum review across Nigeria and prioritize skills rather than old fashioned theories and colonial educational system that does not help human economic growth, skills acquisition and small- scale industry expansion.

He said, “We call on government at all levels to budget not less than 10% of annual spending on investment in education and capacity building and graduated on annual basis for the next 10 years until it gets to a reasonable threshold as recommended by UNICEF

“We call on government to accelerate the steps towards securing schools across the most vulnerable parts of Nigeria and bringing to book criminals who have abducted school kids for ransom and speedily prosecute those whose actions led to the death of students in Kaduna, Zamfara and Borno states.”