EKSU VC Urges Tinubu to Adopt UNESCO’s 26% Recommendation on Funding Education

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

The Vice-Chancellor of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Prof. Eddy Olanipekun, has urged President Bola Tinubu to key into United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) 26 per cent input into education to revive the dying sector. 

The vice-chancellor, who made the call at the 77th inaugural lecture of the university, stated that UNESCO stipulates a minimum of five to 10 GDP of any nation, adding that anything lesser than this will lead to the killing of education in the country.

“It is very sad that Nigeria is drifting away towards that, but with our President Bola Tinubu who actually knows about law of segregation, somebody who studied in the US, we are hoping that by the grace and God will provide him with the wherewithal needed to actually begin to move towards that direction,” stated Olafeso. 

Professor of Adult Education in Ekiti State University Ado Ekiti, Mary Olufunke Adedokun, while delivering the 77th inaugural lecture of the university, called on government at all levels to fund adult education just as formal education is funded; as both types of education are aimed at making the masses literate and functional on their job performances.

Professor Adedokun, during the lecture titled ‘Adult education, a discipline for all Nations and people: correcting the misconceptions’, noted that finance is a major problem in the execution of adult education programmes, and government must have an adequate budget to make adult education functional and not dormant.

Adedokun explained that non-governmental organisations should be further encouraged to invest in adult education in order to make education accessible to all.

The university don who noted that misconceptions about adult education have a lot of negative impact on students’ enrolment into the discipline called for awareness programmes for admission officers of higher institutions who are in the habit of discouraging students from filling in adult education as their discipline of study.

”Misconceptions about adult education had made some parents withdraw their children/wards from the discipline even after spending a year or two in the university,” Adedokun stated.

She called on various stakeholders in the education sector to implement radio and television awareness programmes to expose the benefits of adult education in nation-building.

According to Adedokun, literacy, community development, industrial education, citizenship education, cooperative education, extension education and social welfare are all embedded in adult education.