South-South Students Assembly: Niger-Delta students lament poor funding of education

The students urged FG to create a task force that will monitor the spending of funds released for the development of infrastructure of facilities in tertiary institutions.

A group of students from the south-south part of Nigeria have expressed concern over lack of funds for education in Niger Delta.

Led by its National President, Michael Christianus the students under the umbrella of South-South Students’ Assembly met the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu in Abuja on Monday, December 11.

Raising concern over the state of education, Christianus urged Federal Government to create a task force that will monitor the spending of funds released for the development of infrastructure and provision of facilities in tertiary institutions across the country.

The students also urged government to establish scholarship scheme for students in the Niger Delta and address problems of funding in education in the region.

 

He said, “We request from the ministry the establishment of a Niger Delta Scholarship Board to help in addressing the problems of poor funding in education and the helplessness of teeming students in the region. We want to partner the ministry in the area of scholarship grants to our students in the Niger Delta from the existing Federal Scholarship Board. We want to remind the government that education is the bedrock of any society.

“We ask for the creation of an Education Federation Account to raise enough capital to rebuild the infrastructural decay in our school system. The government should also inaugurate an education task force to monitor the spending of funds released to develop infrastructural facilities in our universities and polytechnics nationwide.\

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“The ministry must invent a master plan aimed at addressing the development of our universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, by adopting a university and polytechnic per geopolitical zone for infrastructural overhauling and development. The ministry should also establish in each institution, liaison offices to address issues of examination malpractices, sexual abuses by lecturers, victimisation of students and other forms of the negligence of by lecturers.”

 

Federal Polytechnic in Bayelsa and Kano Senator's comment

The students' visit to the Minister of Education is coming barely two weeks after an Ijaw group  cautioned Senator  Aminu Suleiman about his comment on the Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe in Bayelsa state.

The senator had said the school is quieter than a graveyard and that the management has nothing to show for the monthly allocations it receives.

However, the group warned the senator representing Fagge Federal Constituency in Kano state from making comments that could further divide the country about the school.

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