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Tag: UNESCO

  • INVESTIGATION: Nigeria’s school feeding programme derails as out-of-school children increase

    INVESTIGATION: Nigeria’s school feeding programme derails as out-of-school children increase

    Nigeria’s Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) introduced by the Federal Government in 2016, began in seven pilot states – Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun and Zamfara – but has now spread across 35 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Over nine million pupils in 54,619 public primary schools are said to be benefiting from the programme which caters to only junior classes 1-3. Another 107,550 cooks are said to be engaged for the purpose of implementing the programme and the agriculture sector has been strengthened, as meal ingredients are locally sourced.

    The main objectives of the school feeding programme when it was introduced, were to provide a safety net for the poor, increase enrollment, and eradicate malnutrition in school-age children while also stimulating the national agricultural economy, but it has failed to provide relevant data that shows increased enrolment of pupils in public primary schools over the last six years.

    Controversies around the school feeding programme

    Despite the achievements the programme claims to have recorded since its inception, a lot of controversies, which bother on implementation and accountability, have come from different quarters.

    For example, the school feeding programme is designed to ensure that each child beneficiary gets one solid quality meal a day for a minimum of 20 days in a month, in order to increase enrollment, reduce the dropout rate and improve learning outcomes.

    However, the cost of the meal per child pegged at N70 drew criticism from many Nigerians, and frustration from the cooks engaged to deliver the programme. It was only in February this year that the cost was raised to N100 per child.

    An investigation by TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) has revealed that even with the increase from N70 to N100, the amount budgeted per child is still grossly insufficient to deliver quality meals essential to curbing malnutrition among children in a country where a sachet of portable drinking water is sold for N20, a piece of egg N80, one cup of beans or rice costs an average of N100 and 12.5kg of cooking gas is sold at N10,000 currently.

    Another area of contention is the amount expended on the programme which is shrouded in secrecy, and payment delays which result in inconsistency of food deliveries. In 2020, the House of Representatives queried spending on the programme, insisting that many schools and communities were yet to benefit from the initiative.

    One in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria.

    The lawmakers also noted that the data used for the programme since its inception had been unverifiable and directed the Statistician-General of the Federation and the National Bureau of Statistics, to provide data on all public schools and pupils benefiting from the initiative.

    They also demanded the details of the food vendors involved in the programme, parameters for the qualifications of the vendors, for the purpose of accountability and in line with the Public Procurement Act.

    While the outcome of this investigation is yet to be made public two years after it was launched, it is clear that at the new rate of N100 per person for the current 9,990,862 benefiting children, the federal government will be spending nearly N1 billion daily and N240 billion annually on the school feeding programme.

    Nigeria not doing enough to address number of out-of-school children

    Besides the HGSFP, the federal government introduced the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme in 2004, as a special intervention vehicle aimed at reducing the rate of school dropouts and out-of-school children.

    The UBE also seeks to improve the quality and efficiency of basic education, as well as promote the acquisition of literacy, numeracy, life skills and values for lifelong education and useful living.

    However, despite the ambitious objectives of the UBE, it receives only a paltry N55.5 billion from the federal government, when compared to the school feeding programme, and over half of this fund remain unutilised.

    Many states have failed to meet the criteria for accessing an annual intervention funding of up to N1.5 billion, and in some cases, there are allegations of misappropriation of these funds, while most public primary schools do not have sufficient classrooms or basic teaching aids, and remain in deplorable conditions.

    Experts say that the right environment must exist for learning to take place. But the objective reality in most state-owned schools does not promote this necessity; a reason UNESCO classified Nigeria among countries where “teaching takes place, but without learning”.

    Some of the criteria for accessing the fund include providing a fifty per cent counterpart funding by the state to match FG’s own contribution, the presentation of an Action Plan detailing proposed projects of how to spend the funds for education for every fiscal year and the attainment of at least 70 per cent budget execution before the release of another fiscal year’s fund.

    Our findings show that as of February 2022, N33.6 billion earmarked for basic education by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) had not been accessed by 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    The Federal government has rolled out yet another initiative called the Accelerated Basic Education Programme, (ABEP) under the auspices of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).

    The objective of the ABEP, which will receive funding support from the European Union (EU) and Plan International Nigeria is also to ensure that out-of-school children return to school.

    Despite these interventions, there are currently, 18.5 million children, compared to the 8.7 million in 2014, who are out of school, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the highest in the world.

    TNG’s investigation also reveals that these interrelated intervention programmes initiated by the federal government to reduce the number of out-of-school children have failed to provide comprehensive data that shows the growing net enrollment rate of primary school children in public schools to justify the resources invested in them.

    The net enrolment rate is the ratio of children of the official primary school age who are enrolled in primary school to the total population of the official primary school age which is between 6-11 years.

    A visit to the website of the HGSFP, showed information on the number of schools covered, students fed and cooks engaged, but omitted information on enrollments, which is a main objective of the programme.

    By announcing a higher number of beneficiaries of the programme, without providing vital information on improvement in enrollment and learning outcomes as part of its Key Performance Indicators, the Programme has shown it does not consider the latter a priority.

    It has also failed to show transparency in its operations or render accountability through annual reports on its activities for the past six years and the news section of the website was last updated in October 2017.

    Vice President (South West) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) Salaam Abdusobor, has described the school feeding programme as part of an entrenched system of corruption in the country.

    “Similar projects have been embarked upon in the past with no accountability and with no evidence that it got to the beneficiaries. Where are the 10 million beneficiaries?

    “While there is no doubt that some children may need feeding, which environment are these children schooling in? Is it unsafe, ramshackle and with run down environments?

    “I think the Federal Government has not had its thoughts clearly planned or mapped out and this is a sustained conduit for corruption,” he concluded.

  • Word Press Freedom Day: Adhere strictly to journalism ethics – AMDF urges journalists

    Word Press Freedom Day: Adhere strictly to journalism ethics – AMDF urges journalists

    The Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF), has called on journalists to adhere strictly to the code of journalism ethics each time they write their stories.

    Mr Iliya Kure, the Executive Director, AMDF, made this known in a statement issued to mark the 2022 World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) on Tuesday in Kaduna.
    Kure said: “The foundation salutes journalists in Africa, and around the world, who remain in the frontline to practice journalism, in spite of attacks, threats, imprisonment, losses and blackmail.
    “As we mark the 2022 World Press Freedom Day, we remember each of the 55 journalists killed worldwide in the last one year (UNESCO figures), who died in line of duty, or because of their journalistic practice.
    “Overtime, press freedom in Africa has remained an issue of concern, with high incidences of violations and attacks on the press by security agents, on the orders of people in authority, and sometimes by aggrieved members of the public, who take the law into their hands.
    “We, therefore, call on governments and security agencies in Africa to respect the freedom of the press at all times.
    According to Kure, the World Press Freedom Day, observed every May 3, is set aside by the United Nations to serve as a reminder to governments, of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.
    He said: “Like every press freedom stakeholder, AMDF is concerned with increasing cases of harassment, arrests, imprisonment, torture and digital attacks on journalists for no other reason, other than doing their work.
    “AMDF aligns with the 2022 theme, ‘Journalism Under Digital Siege’, which is a reflection of the many challenges confronting journalists in the discharge of their duties.
    He said that it was particularly important because the trend of online attacks on media is significantly increasing with women journalists worst hit.
    “A recent statistic by UNESCO shows a shocking prevalence of harassment online, where nearly three-quarters of female media professionals have experienced online violence linked to their work,” he said.
    He explained that AMDF would, on Thursday May 12, hold a virtual panel discussion via zoom, drawing journalists from different countries of Africa to have discussion on issues about press freedom.
    Kure said that AMDF would continue to speak against impunity and injustice against journalists.
    He called on all stakeholders to join the foundation in the fight for Press Freedom until the press in Africa is free from attacks and violence.
  • How global disappearance of languages is threatening linguistic diversity

    How global disappearance of languages is threatening linguistic diversity

    The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) warns that linguistic diversity is increasingly threatened as more and more languages disappear globally.

    UNESCO Director General, Audrey Azoulay, in a message to mark International Mother Language Day on Monday, called on countries to defend linguistic and cultural diversity.

    According to UNESCO, globally, 40 per cent of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand.

    Azoulay highlighted how four out of 10 children worldwide do not have access to education in the language they speak or understand best, meaning the foundation for their learning is more fragile.

    “From the very first day of school, many schoolchildren have the ambivalent experience of discovering one language – and the world of ideas which comes with it – and forgetting another one: the language they have known since infancy,” she said.

    “This distancing from the mother tongue affects us all, for linguistic diversity is a common good. And the protection of linguistic diversity is a duty,” she said in a statement.

    Azoulay stressed that every language had a certain rhythm, as well as a certain way of approaching things and thinking of them.

    “Learning or forgetting a language is thus not merely about acquiring or losing a means of communication. It is about seeing an entire world either appear or fade away,” she said.

    For the United Nations, International Mother Language Day recognises that languages play a vital role in development, in ensuring cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue.

    The theme for 2022 commemoration is ‘Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities.’

    Although technology can provide new tools for protecting linguistic diversity, including to record and preserve languages that may only exist in oral form, Azoulay warned of potential pitfalls.

    As the Internet poses a risk of linguistic uniformisation, “we must also be aware that technological progress will serve plurilingualism only as long as we make the effort to ensure that it does.”

    Therefore, she said designing digital tools in several languages and supporting media development, as well as supporting access to connectivity, must be done so that a person can discover different languages without giving up their mother tongue.

    Azoulay added that this year marked the start of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, which should give new momentum to protecting what she called “these invaluable repositories of know-how and worldviews.”

    UNESCO is the lead agency for the International Decade, and she underlined its full commitment to this objective.

    Ms Andriamiseza Noro, Education programme specialist at UNESCO, believes technology has the power to address some of the biggest challenges in education today.

    This includes mother tongue-based multilingual learning, a key element for inclusion in education, which also fosters respect for diversity and a sense of interconnectedness between countries and peoples.

    “Technology, therefore, makes it possible to be in a real situation, which we do not necessarily have with a book or a textbook,” she said.

    Noro has observed that young people tend to use technology outside the classroom. “And I feel like they learn a lot faster with these technologies. So that’s the potential of technology that allows us to be more multilingual and we communicate much faster,” she said.

  • UNESCO removes Liverpool from World Heritage List

    UNESCO removes Liverpool from World Heritage List

    Historic docklands and buildings in the UK city of Liverpool have been removed from the UN cultural body UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites, it announced on Wednesday.

    UNESCO in a statement said the World Heritage Committee, holding its 44th hybrid session in Fuzhou, decided to delete the property ‘Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City’ (UK) from the World Heritage List.

    According to the statement, the body decided to delete the property due to the irreversible loss of attributes conveying the outstanding universal value of the property.

    The move follows concerns raised in 2012 about the proposed development of disused dockland near the city centre, which a UNESCO committee decided were “detrimental to the site’s authenticity and integrity”.

    New additions to the city’s waterfront include the proposed Everton Football Club stadium, which is due to open for the 2024-25 season.

    Liverpool was added to World Heritage List in 2004 in recognition of its role as one of the world’s major trading centres in the 18th and 19th centuries – and its pioneering dock technology, transport systems and port management.

    Media reports have indicated that Liverpool city leaders are dismayed and disappointed by the news and may consider lodging an appeal.

    Liverpool’s Maritime Mercantile City is only the third location to lose its World Heritage status after the decision was announced by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at a virtual conference in China.

    The first venue to be delisted by the UNESCO panel was the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Oman, in 2007, after concerns over poaching and habitat degradation.

    Second to be removed from the World Heritage list in 2009 was Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany, after the construction of the Waldschlosschen road bridge across the Elbe river.

    The UN body began compiling its list of World Heritage sites in 1972, naming 12 initially.

    These included Yellowstone National Park in the United States and Ethiopia’s cave churches at Lalibela.

    Today there are more than 1,100 listed sites in 167 Member States from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

    Recent additions include Te Wahipounamu park in South West New Zealand, which is home to the kea, the only alpine parrot in the world, and the rare and endangered takahe, a large flightless bird.

  • More than 100 million more children fail basic reading skills because of COVID-19-UNESCO

    More than 100 million more children fail basic reading skills because of COVID-19-UNESCO

    A new study, released on Friday by the UN cultural agency, has revealed that more than 100 million more children, than expected, are falling behind the minimum proficiency level in reading, due to COVID-related school closures.

    According to the study from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNECSO), “One year into COVID: Prioritising education recovery to avoid a generational catastrophe,” even before the pandemic the number of children lacking basic reading skills was on a downward curve.

    A UNESCO statement said in 2020, instead of 460 million children experiencing reading difficulties, that number jumped to 584 million. The rise of more than 20 per cent, wiped out two decades of education gains, the agency said.

    Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, complete or  partial  closures have disrupted schooling for an average of 25 weeks, says the report, with the highest learning losses projected to be in the Latin America and Caribbean region, and in Central and Southern Asia.

    While the report finds that a return to the pre-pandemic pathway may take a decade, it underscores that recovery could occur by 2024 “if exceptional efforts are made to provide remedial classes and catch-up strategies”.

    According to new data from a joint survey conducted by UNESCO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), only a quarter of students are benefiting from remedial education.

    While the number of students impacted by school closures has not significantly changed since the beginning of the pandemic, countries are increasingly taking measures to keep schools at least partially open.

    The report shows that schools are currently fully open in 107 countries, mostly in Africa, Asia and Europe, serving 400 million pre-primary to secondary learners.

    Meanwhile, school closures in 30 countries are impacting some 165 million students.

    At the same time, schools in 70 countries are partially open in various regions, for some grades, or with reduced in-person attendance – affecting about two-thirds of the global student population, or nearly one billion learners.

  • [TNG COVID-19 Watch 16] Estimated 1.3bn children out of school-UNESCO

    [TNG COVID-19 Watch 16] Estimated 1.3bn children out of school-UNESCO

    Good morning! Welcome to TNG’s daily watch of happenings around the globe on clovid-19. Emman Ovuakporie, Regional Editor, TNG.

    UNESCO estimates that, as of 24 March, 138 countries have closed schools nationwide, impacting over 1.3 billion children and youth. A further 11 countries have implemented localized school closures.

    In the ensuing weeks, this will raise major challenges around equity: how will the most vulnerable students fare when schools are closed?

    Understanding the risks of school closures for the most vulnerable

    School closures in the context of this rapidly-spreading virus have been deemed necessary by health authorities across the globe, to both slow the spread of the disease and to mitigate the effects on health systems that will not be able to cope with potentially massive numbers of critically ill patients. In some contexts, confinement is becoming not only an act of civil solidarity, but an imperative measure for protecting public health.

    However, confinement and school closures often have longer-term consequences, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized, magnifying already-existing disparities within the education system. In addition to the missed opportunities for learning, many children and youth lose access to healthy meals, and are subjected to economic and social stress.

    Known global cases near 900,000
    According to data collected by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, 887,067 people around the world have become infected, 44,264 of whom have died. They also count 185,541 people who have recovered.

    However, it is thought the true scale of the outbreak is significantly greater as concerns are expressed that some countries, including China, have been underreporting their figures.

    US intelligence accuses China of playing down crisis
    American officials reportedly believe China has been underreporting the total number of cases and deaths.

    The conclusions of a classified report from the intelligence community to the White House were revealed to Bloomberg by three anonymous officials who declined to detail its contents.

    They reportedly say the thrust was that China’s concealment was deliberate and that the report was received by the White House last week.

    UK death toll passes 2,300
    The UK government has confirmed hundreds more deaths in hospitals, taking the total to 2,352; the youngest was aged just 13. However, figures from the Office for National Statistics have already revealed that dozens more people have been dying as a result of the pandemic in care homes and other settings, meaning the true total is likely to be considerably higher.

    Ministers say 152,979 people in the UK have been tested and 29,474 have tested positive.

    New York City death toll passes 1,000
    Deaths from the coronavirus reached 1,096 in New York City as an emergency field hospital opened in Central Park. Data released by the city’s health department showed the virus was having a disproportionate effect in certain neighbourhoods, mainly Brooklyn and Queens.

    Germany extends distancing measures
    Physical distancing measures have been extended in Germany until at least 19 April, and will be re-evaluated on the Tuesday after Easter, Angela Merkel has said.

    The German chancellor spoke after a telephone conference with the premiers of Germany’s 16 states on Wednesday afternoon, in which they agreed a draft resolution urging people “to keep contact with people beyond their own household to an absolute minimum, even during the Easter holidays, in accordance with the applicable rules,” according to German media cited by the broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

  • US, Israel formally quit UNESCO

    US, Israel formally quit UNESCO

    The United States and Israel have officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day, the culmination of a process triggered more than a year ago.

    The withdrawal is mainly procedural yet serves a new blow to UNESCO, co-founded by the US after World War II to foster peace.

    The Trump administration filed its notice to withdraw in October 2017 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed suit, accusing the UN agency of anti-Israel bias.

    The Paris-based organisation has previously criticised Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem and granted full membership to Palestine in 2011.

    UNESCO is best known for its work to preserve heritage, including maintaining a list of World Heritage sites, and programmes to promote education in developing countries.

    The withdrawals will not greatly affect UNESCO financially, since it has been dealing with a funding slash ever since 2011 when both Israel and the US stopped paying dues after Palestine was voted in as a member state.

    Since then officials estimate that the US – which accounted for around 22 percent of the total budget – has accrued $600m in unpaid dues, which was one of the reasons for President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw. Israel owes an estimated $10m.

    Officials say that many of the reasons the US cited for the withdrawal do not apply any more, noting that since then, all 12 texts on the Middle East passed at UNESCO have been consensual among Israel and Arab member states.

    The State Department couldn’t comment because of the US government shutdown.

    Earlier, the department told UNESCO officials the US intends to stay engaged at UNESCO as a non-member “observer state” on “non-politicised” issues, including the protection of World Heritage sites, advocating for press freedom and promoting scientific collaboration and education.

    The US could potentially seek that status during the UNESCO Executive Board meetings in April.

    The US has pulled out of UNESCO before. The Reagan administration did so in 1984 because it viewed the agency as mismanaged, corrupt, and used to advance Soviet interests. The US re-joined in 2003.

  • UNESCO seeks end to discrimination against African descendants

    UNESCO seeks end to discrimination against African descendants

    The UN has called on the global community to reflect on the legacy of slavery and remember to guard against racial prejudices which continue to fuel everyday discrimination against people of African descent.

    The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) made the call on the 20th anniversary of the International Day for Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition,

    The Director-General of UNESCO, Ms Audrey Azoulay, in her message for the Day, said remembering slave trade offered the chance to raise awareness and oppose all forms of modern slavery.

    “UNESCO invites everyone, including public authorities, civil society, historians, researchers and ordinary citizens, to mobilise in order to raise awareness about this history that we share and to oppose all forms of modern slavery,” Azoulay said.

    On the night of Aug. 22, 1791, an uprising began in the western part of Saint-Domingue Island, which, throughout the century, would greatly contribute to the abolition and dismantling of the transatlantic slave trade.

    “The war that ensued culminated in 1804 in the independence of that part of the island, which took the name of Haiti, and led to the recognition of the equal rights of all its inhabitants,” Azoulay said, explaining the inspiration for the Day.

    Each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the Day’s importance and also pays tribute to those who worked hard to abolish slave trade and slavery throughout the world.

    Azoulay pointed out that since 2001, trafficking and slavery had been recognised by the international community as crimes against humanity.

    “Yet, these scourges resurface at regular intervals in different ways and in different places,” she added, saying that new forms of slavery can be prevented by knowing the slave trade history.

    The Slave Route Project, launched by UNESCO in 1994, has made it possible to identify the ethical, cultural and socio-political issues of this painful history, she said.

    “By developing a multidisciplinary approach, which links historical, memorial, creative, educational and heritage dimensions, this project has contributed to enriching our knowledge of the slave trade and spreading a culture of peace,” Azoulay said.

    Meanwhile, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has underscored that domestic workers are one of the groups most vulnerable to exploitation, violence, harassment and forced labour.

    The UN labour agency said, “many women end up being trapped in abusive work situations which in some cases may amount to modern forms of slavery.”

    ILO said “ no fewer than 67 million domestic workers who care for our homes and loved ones frequently suffer violence, harassment, exploitation and coercion – ranging from verbal abuse to sexual violence, and sometimes even death.’’

    “At the root of this situation is discrimination,” said Philippe Marcadent, Chief of the ILO Branch related to Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions.

    “Domestic workers are often not recognised as workers, and face discrimination as women, often from poor and marginalised groups, such as migrants and indigenous peoples,” Marcadent said.

    For many, daily abuses like lack of rest and non-payment of wages could quickly turn into forced labour, ILO said.

    “Today domestic workers are beginning to organise, and ILO is discussing a new legal instrument to combat violence and harassment in the world of work,” the UN labour agency said.

  • Nigeria reaches broadband penetration target

    The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, said that Nigeria’s broadband penetration, according to the ITU/UNESCO policy forum, is currently at 22%, indicating that the minimum target to reach 20% by 2017 was met.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the EVC, at a session with journalists recently, explained that the minimum and maximum targets set were 20% and 30% respectively.

    Professor Danbatta further stated that the International Telecommunications Union/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization policy forum would release the latest broadband penetration figures by September 2018.

    “Nigeria’s broadband penetration was between 4 to 6% in 2013 when the target was set and the NCC has since, licensed infrastructure companies (Infracos) to deploy fibre network in various regions of the country.

    “There is an initiative under the office of the Vice President, but being driven by some licensees of the NCC to deploy 18000km of fibre infrastructure.

    “The whole idea is to add 18,000km of fibre in addition to the 38,000km of fibre that we have already on the ground, to make it 56,000km,” he said.

    He also stated that a subsidy of around Three Billion Naira (N3b) had been budgeted to be paid piecemeal to the infrastructure companies to deploy the fibre, stressing “This payment will be predicated on milestones by the licensees”.

    The challenges to broadband penetration in Nigeria include multiple taxation and Right of Way issues, most of which the NCC is working very hard to address.

    The Commission has had very fruitful talks with the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) in this regard, Danbatta stated.

    The EVC also reiterated NCC’s commitment to stopping illegal call masking operations in Nigeria.

    “We have discovered that call masking is being perpetrated with small movable devices called SIM boxes and we are in the process of choosing the best from a list of technology solutions used in other countries, to block the devices, track and apprehend the culprits”, he said.

     

  • How to grow Science, Technology, Innovation in Nigeria

    The Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) on Saturday said that channelling funds towards education and manpower development would aid Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) growth in the country.

    The President of NAS, Prof. Mosto Onuoha, made this assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    According to him, there is the need for Nigeria to begin implementation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommendation of 26 per cent of national budget to education.

    “Presently, Nigeria has only allocated 7.04 per cent to education, and this falls short of UNESCO’s recommendation.

    “If the country is not devoting enough finance to education and manpower, it will not help the country to achieve much with STI.

    “We need to also have resources allocated to research and ensure that the teaching profession is taken seriously so that the country can compete favourably with other countries,’’ he said.

    Onuoha urged the Federal Government to look into the state of public schools in the country, as their environment, facilities, and remuneration for teachers which do not come as and when due, needed to be given attention.

    He also called for proper and continuous training of teachers so that they would be abreast of what obtains in the educational system.

    “The incident that happened in Kaduna State where the government tested the teachers and found them lacking in skills and expertise is not a good experience.

    “Owing teachers backlog of salaries also does not augur well due to the fact that it can bring down the morale and zeal to teach,’’ he said.

    The NAS president said that the benefits of pushing STI forward could help the country in solving problems, as there was no problem that did not have a science base to solving them.

    He said that STI was required in many fields, like in health, where it could help people to be conscious of personal hygiene which would help reduce the constant outbreak of diseases.

    “The issue of Lassa fever that was reported to have killed hundreds of people; if people observed good hygiene, it would have reduced the impact.

    “We need to teach our people, raise the awareness for a clean environment for people from primary to secondary schools.