SAN FRANCISCO, July 12, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has said it would concession the public-owned schools “not doing well” to enable better management, the minister of state for education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has said.
Speaking at the maiden edition of Re-Ignite Public Affairs National Dialogue Series Webinar on Saturday, Nwajiuba said a public and private sector collaboration is a way to move the education sector forward in the country.
The event, which was organised in collaboration with Businessday newspapers, was moderated by Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, an education policy expert specialising in public-private partnerships.
The theme of the event was “Nigeria at 60, Education: Navigating a new Normal”.
The minister said that the ministry was already working out a framework to bring in private sector players to come in and adopt public schools that were not doing well.
“We are going to be changing to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), curriculum and enhance it.
“Also, we are stepping up with private sector players because we have realised that we cannot do it alone. It is essential we bring everyone on board through public-private partnerships.
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“For instance, we have a lot of public schools that are not doing well; so, instead of building new schools, let us concession some of these schools to those who have the capacity to adopt and close-manage them very well.
“These are the kinds of projects we want to do and I proposed this when I was the Chairman of TETFUND,” he said.
Speaking on schools resumption in the face of COVID-19, he said the government’s priority was to safeguard itself, learners and teachers in navigating the new normal.
“Most of the things we are working on are toward carrying learners forward in the new system during this pandemic,” Nwajiuba said.
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