The National Executive Council, NEC, of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, in celebration of this year’s International Youth Day, IYD, Monday called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to declare a state of emergency on education and ensure adequate security for all.

Nigerians IYD which comes up on 12th August every year is slated by the United Nations to draw attention to a given set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youths of member nations.

Transforming Education.” In a statement by its Public Relations Officers, Olugbode Damola Hammed, the council said this year’s theme emphasized the significance of prioritizing education across the globe, highlighting the importance of accessible education to the youths, ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The group also expressed concern over the “worrisome” state of the education sector, the safety of the Nigerian youths and urged President Buhari-led administration to be proactive in solving these problems.

It further lamented that “in spite of global consciousness of the significance of education as a passport to the future, statistics still show a high rate of out of school children in Nigeria- about 10.5 million of the country age 5-14 are out of school, with the highest rate of school drop out at the secondary and tertiary level.

The 2019 budget accommodates less than eight per cent for education against the advocacy of UNESCO 26 per cent, proving the low prioritization of education in Nigeria.

The statement continued: “Transforming education in Nigeria is long overdue; therefore, we on this day call on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in the education sector, the state of education in Nigeria is worrisome, ranging from infrastructure to curriculum, security to welfare, accessibility to affordability, and bridging the gap between the industry and our institutions, thus, the need to invest in technical education and entrepreneurial skills.

On the security situation, the apex youth body also condemned what it called the worrisome security situation in the country, saying, “the fear of insecurity is on the rise for terrorism is becoming more lucrative. Herdsmen, kidnapping, and cultism constantly make the news. We appeal to Mr President to do more in securing the lives of Nigerians, which happens to be paramount of his mandate.”



Read more here; https://maniagist.com/2019/08/12/international-youth-day-declare-state-of-emergency-on-education-now-nycn-says/