By Magnus Emuji / Promise Ogana
Delta State Government has underscored the Importance of education as a vital element for nation building as well as a vehicle for the realisation of the set goals and objectives of every literate individual.
The State Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu and her counterpart in-charge of Higher Education, Dr. Kingsley Ashibuogwu stated this in Asaba on the occasion of the 2nd International Conference on Education for Nation Building and Self Reliance for School of Secondary Education, organised by the Federal College of Education Technical, Asaba.
Mrs. Ezewu, who was accompanied by the State Director of Schools in her Ministry, Mrs. Kehinde Oderhowho and a Deputy Director of Education in the Ministry, Mrs. Justina Ishaka, commended the management of the college for organising the conference.
While saying that the conference would define a road map for education as a model for self-reliance and sustainability, Mrs. Ezewu stated that Senator Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State had demonstrated immense capacity in providing educational policies that had complemented teaching and learning in school and foster nationalism and patriotism in the state.
Earlier, the Chairman of the occasion and Delta State Commissioner for Higher Education, Dr. Kingsley Ashibuogwu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Anthony Nwaokolobia said that science and technology was the way to go in order for the education sector to have breakthrough that would ensure the sustainable development.
Ashibuogwu, who opined that if students were trained in relevant skills that would enable them to be self-reliant , it would enable them to impact more meaningfully in their lives and the society in general.
Ashibuogwu said that emphasis should be focused on child hand based education for them to be self-reliant rather than abstract theoretical teachers based education.
He said that governments could not do it all alone, adding that there was need for private sector participation so as to complement government’s efforts, especially in the area of accessing certain technology and equipment that would enable the students to acquire skills.
In her keynote address, the Vice Chancellor of University of Delta (UNIDEL), Prof. Stella Chiemeke described nation building as a strategic policy where people of diverse backgrounds come together to help foster national unity.
. Chiemeke, who was represented by the Head of Department of Cyber Security, Dr Esther Mughele stated that education was one of the major ways of achieving industrialisation especially in the developed countries.
The UNIDEL VC, however, noted that education contributed to the socioeconomic of the society, adding that it was essential for nation building just as she stressed the importance of self-reliance among students and every individual in the society.
