By Olufemi Orunsola
Education has been globally accepted as the bedrock of development. Unfortunately, the reality remains that quality education is not, has never being and will never be cheap! Even in advanced countries of the world where education is perceived to be given to citizens free of charge, the fact remains that it is been paid for by a functional system of government and functional institutional frameworks supported by tax payers money judiciously deployed on education as a priority sector.
In developing nations of Africa like Nigeria where government at all levels mostly fall behind and still struggles with meeting benchmark of statutory 26% budgetary allocation to education as recommended by United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the place of Public Private Initiatives(PPI) in upscaling capital and infrastructural funding of education cannot be over emphasized.
Without mincing words, PPI is a strategic often unexploited game changer in the business of funding quality education in today's digital world.This informs why the recent moves by the Rotary Club of Ikeja District 9110 Nigeria to commission and handover a modern borehole facility to Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta on Friday 12th May, 2023 stands to be a highly commendable move.
The borehole facility, which is a collaboration project of 10 Rotary Clubs in Abeokuta and Ikeja Lagos, was initiated in November, 2022 when the President of Ikeja Rotary Club, Rotarian Olusola Akinsiku led other Rotarians on courtesy visit to the Rector, Dr. Adeoye Odedeji.The entire Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Abeokuta community trooped out to take custody of the laudable PPI project under the watchful eyes of traditional majesties, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba (Dr.) Michael Adedotun Gbadebo and the Osile of Oke-Ona Egba, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso and the District Governor of Rotary Club, District 9110 among other dignitaries who graced the commissioning with visible excitement.Indeed, there can be no better ocassion for the entire Academic community in Nigeria and the Corporate community as well as Alumni Associations, Service Clubs/Organizations and Non Governmental Organizations to once again reflect on the latent(often untapped or underrated) potentials of PPI towards making up for the budgetary deficit in education funding in NigeriaIt was such a great delight to see the Chief Host, Dr. Adeoye Odedeji, Rector, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Abeokuta lead Management team, Staff and Students to the take custody of the notable infrastructural project on behalf of the 44-year old front line tertiary institution in Nigeria.
The occasion is therefore a clarion call to other well meaning individuals in the society, Alumni Members, Corporate organizations as well as other service clubs to emulate the good gestures of the Rotary Club towards uplifting education to enviable heights in this age of Internet of Things by exploring other areas of infrastructural support to public owned educational institutions such as: provision of high speed broad band internet access, solar power systems, scholarships and endowments for outstanding but less previleged students, modern digital research, laboratory and or studio/workshop facilities for practical training of students, to mention but a few.In addition, teaching volunteering by prominent captains of industries and technocrats is another invaluable Public Private Initiative capable of increasing the relevance of modern tertiary education to the needs of the industries and labour market. Such human capacity development moves carefully crafted into the learning pedagogy of education goes a long way to open up hitherto untapped potentials of the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains of education.
It is a formula guaranteed to foster a virtuous cycle of quality education feeding into a stream quality graduates and invariably quality industry professionals and practitioners in various walks of life.Olufemi Orunsola is the Co-ordinator, Training, Extension Services & Consultancy, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (MAPCED) Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment