Commission backs proposed minimum standard for secondary ed

The National Senior Secondary School Education Commission says that the proposed national minimum standards will set benchmarks for the establishment and operation of senior secondary education in the country if implemented.

It said it would also significantly reposition the sector, which had suffered neglect and deterioration in terms of infrastructure and equipment, leading to the production of poor-quality students.

The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr Iyela Ajayi, stated this during the opening ceremony of the critique workshop for the southern zone on the draft document on the minimum standards for senior secondary education in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, on Wednesday.

The Federal Government, in its bid to reposition the sector, saddled the commission with the responsibility of prescribing minimum standard documents that would enable the operators of the subsector to function in line with the goals and aspirations of Nigerian education.

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Ayayi said that the views of the zonal workshop would be harmonised with those of the workshop held in Bauchi State for the northern zone before the validation of the documents.

“We are gathered here today to critique the draft National Minimum Standards for senior secondary education in Nigeria and this exercise is for critical stakeholders in the southern zone. We had earlier held the first workshop on the same issue in Bauchi to cover the northern zone of the country.

“When approved and implemented, the minimum standards would set benchmarks for all aspects of senior secondary education in Nigeria. Also, the national minimum standards would play an important and critical role in the repositioning of senior secondary education in Nigeria.

“There will be harmonisation of the views on the minimum standards from the northern and southern zones. Next would be the validation of the document, then to the JCCE, and finally to the National Council on Education for final approval.

“We are confident that when released and implemented, the Minimum Standards will revolutionise senior secondary education in Nigeria.”

The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, who was represented by his deputy, Akon Ayakenyi, while declaring the workshop open, said there was an urgent need to revisit the school system with a view to establishing certain minimum standards if the country is to be fixed again.

“If we sincerely want to fix Nigeria, we must re-visit our school system with a view to establishing certain irreducible minimum standards in the quality of personnel, infrastructure, and curriculum,” the governor said.