“The retirement age of our teachers has been moved from 60 to 65. I think this is very encouraging for teachers. Of course I mentioned earlier that those in the sciences will have better emoluments attached to their allowances.”
He also expressed optimism that some of the areas that have suffered from inadequate funding from the appropriation window would be taken care of, with the added increase, including the funds that will be made available to institutions.
Bogoro said TETfund will help in increasing the funding made available through appropriation for even personnel and that the capital allocation made to public universities, polytechnics and colleges of Education would also increase.
“The most vibrant economies are so because they have allowed education to dictate the way forward through qualitative research, to make a difference. In Nigeria it cannot be different,” he said.
“In Nigeria for instance, there is no doubt, the facts are there that the south west zone have a comparative advantage over the other five geopolitical zones because of their consistent and massive investment in education starting from the time of late Obafemi Awolowo, with free education from the foundation upwards.”
Bogoro also disclosed that the draft law for the establishment of the National Research and Development Foundation, NRDF, has been submitted to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, for inputs before transmission to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, for approval and onward submission to the National Assembly.
In his presentation, immediate Past President, Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Prof. Abiodun Ogunyemi, stressed that education remains the bedrock for every knowledge based economy and sustainable national development.
Ogunyemi who was the lead presenter, insists that education must inter-phase with other sectors of the economy and national life, adding that an integrated policy framework was needed to bind all the various sectors together for sustainable development to occur.
According to him, education, research and development were cross cutting issues for national development, even as he added that there was need for the government to transform tertiary education in the country to allow for an inbuilt research and development eco system.
“Setting Nigeria’s research agenda under the context of R&D involves transitioning from research for publication to enabling problem solving research, increasing thought-out of human power, strengthening of IP regulations, technology transfer and commercialization in that sequence before industrialization,” he said.
Ogunyemi further recommended a service learning approach to teaching and learning, revamping leadership and governance in tertiary institutions to enable the buy in of key management on order to enhance their attitudes, behaviours and commitment to engage R&D, as well ad establish a formal management system, structures and processes required to deliver and sustain change and improvement in quality.
He also harped on the need to ensure a connected curriculum framework that would help students connect with researchers, across disciplines, vertical and horizontal integration, learn how to produce outputs and hands-on experience, as well as connect academic learning with workplace learning.
