On the 29th of March, 2019, ACE charity along with leading stakeholders in the education sector set out to discuss and deliberate on how collectively, we can enhance and deliver measurable quality education in Nigeria at the ACE Charity Education Symposium held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
We set out to facilitate discussions around challenges of and articulate solutions for enhancing and delivering measurable quality education in Nigeria. In addition, we had an open discussion around creating systematic pathways to ensure more female qualified and competent teachers get employment into public schools. Indeed, we also succeeded in proffering solutions to enable individual and collective efforts towards confronting the educational crisis in Nigeria.
All thanks to the passionate members of the panels and invited guests, we came up with the following 5 takeaways.
- Teachers Matter: There is a real life impact on our society when the welfare of teachers is ignored. It tells on the quality of education our children receive. Improving the welfare of teachers is central to attaining quality education for the Nigerian child, particularly in public schools. Secondly, the prestige of the teaching profession must be restored. The teaching profession is not seen as a prestigious profession in Nigeria and that has to change.
- What is Happening with our Curriculum?: The panelists and even the audience echoed the need for an updated Nigerian curriculum. The current curriculum used is outdated and must evolve to align with global educational standards.
- Education is our collective responsibility: You have probably heard it before, but we keep saying it because it is true. Quality education is a collective responsibility of everyone and not just the government therefore, professionals in various fields should volunteer their time in schools around their localities to mentor young boys and girls in primary and secondary schools.
- More Money, More money and more money: Increasing the education budget is just the beginning. The education budget must be increased to make provisions for teacher training with strong monitoring and evaluation component to assess effective and judicious use of allocated resources.
- Are some culture and social norms a bridge or a wall to the quality education we want? Cultural and social norms also represent a major obstacle to female teachers remaining in their jobs
For more information about the symposium and some of the points raised, read our communique here