By Dayo Adesulu

National Institute of Training and Development (NITAD)has called on stakeholders in education sector to rise up on the security challenge bedevilling school pupils.

This was disclosed during an annual public lecture organised by the National Institute of Training and Development (NITAD) held in Lagos recently.   Speaking on: Security, Economy and Education: The Way Forward, Mr Garba Abdu Ganger, a management consultant said all hands should be on deck to tackle the insecurity in the north.

Ganger who lamented insecurity consequence on our economy said the high cost of fighting insurgency in the North-East is telling on human capital and economic development in the country. He urged the Federal Government s to pay adequate attention to solving it once for all to allow it focus on other national problems.

”Money that ought to be spent on education, economy and infrastructure is being spent on defence, rehabilitation of displaced people, and repairs,” he explained.

Ganger who averred that insecurity is a major hindrance to development of any country, pointed out that money meant to be spent on national development will be channel curbing insurgents. He said: ”In 2014, the Federal  Government budgeted N32 billion for security. After which the National Assembly approved another N60 billion and another $100 million.

If government had spent that amount on education, we will not be here today,”

The lecturer explained that the cost of insecurity can be direct or indirect. According to him,while direct cost includes medical, legal services, and repairs, indirect cost includes loss of investment in human capital and effect of psychological harm.

Ganger, therefore tasked government to tackle structural violence caused by poverty and marginalization, ensure good governance and re-educate the people.

On his part, Dr Omololu   Omoyinmi, one of the lecturers added that Nigeria has to re-design its education system to be futuristic and not historical.

He said the guiding principle of education in Nigeria is equipping every citizen with such knowledge, skills, attitudes and values adding that poverty and insecurity impacts education negatively and threatens education.

His words: “It is the responsibility of government to empower various institutions to respond proactively to security induced situations to keep such situations from getting out of hand.

“Our curriculum is not fine tuned to what the future is, we learn more from what has expired and there is a limit to which history can favour the future, things are so dynamic and for education to actually lead us into the future, learning must be a continuous process.”

Omoyinni who stated that t education has gone beyond classroom learning, noted that there is need for government to review the curriculum from just reading and passing   examinations to possessing relevant skills.

Meanwhile, the NITAD President, Dr Kayode Ogungbuyi, lauded the theme of the lecture stating that the theme of the lecture was apt given the upheavals the nation experienced this year.

His words: “The theme of this year’s lecture could not have been better chosen given the unending disconnect between security and education with the implications on national economy. We are all bearing some of the emotional, social and psychological effects of the disconnect.”