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COVID-19: Afri-Heritage tasks govt, policy-makers on restructuring
education for socio-economic development
The African Heritage Institution (Afri-Heritage), a research and
socio-economic analytical institution, has tasked governments,
educational policy-makers and stakeholders on restructuring education
for transformative socio-economic development in-line with realities
of COVID-19.
The Executive Director of Afri-Heritage, Professor Ufo Okeke-Uzodike,
gave the task on Thursday in a statement made available to newsmen in
Enugu.
Okeke-Uzodike said that there was a need to be forward looking and
ready to exploit or quickly develop systems to tap into the fluidity
of the emergent COVID-19 opportunities of the fast changing global
supply and trading networks.
According to him, COVID-19 provides African governments a rare
opportunity for a quick turning-point by enabling them to take bold
steps they need to restructure and reset their educational systems
with a view to foster transformative socio-economic development.
He noted that at minimum, COVID-19 gives African governments the
chance to strengthen their commitment, and develop the will to fix
longstanding problems and weaknesses in their misfit educational
systems.
“Which are often ill-suited for the more practical needs of their
communities and countries,’’ he said.
The executive director noted that the Nigerian education system is
unfit currently to drive national development, contribute meaningfully
to competitive incomes, self-reliance or professionalism, and
individual empowerment.
He said: “As such, it is clearly unfit and unable to provide
necessary support systems and opportunities needed by Nigerians to
solve development challenges that can ensure qualitative improvements
in people’s lives.
“Certainly, Nigeria’s education system has become so weak that it
also cannot even play its critical role as an instrument for bringing
about changes in knowledge, values, behaviors and life styles, which
are required for sustainability and stability across societies and
countries’’.
Okeke-Uzodike said that the institution would be organizing an
academia forum, called “The Big Ideas Podium’’ on a virtual
conference to x-ray ways the country and Africa in general could take
advantage of some salient opportunities of COVID-19.
He said: “The Big Ideas Podium scheduled to hold on Thursday, July
23, 2 p.m., using online platform via zoom under the address:
https://zoom.us/meeting/regist
“The theme of the conference is: “COVID-19: Opportunities for
Education and Development in Nigeria’’.
“Eminent professors and seasoned academia, led by Prof. Gregory Ibe,
Chancellor Gregory University, Uturu, Abia State, would be throwing up
and formulate ways to use such opportunities to restructure education
for positive and people-oriented developments’’.
