Lagos, Nigeria — The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and Education International Africa (EIA) have launched a major campaign calling on the government and corporate bodies to increase investment in the nation’s education sector. The initiative, tagged “Go Public Fund Education,” seeks to reverse the trend of underfunding and neglect that has long plagued Nigerian schools.
Speaking at the campaign’s launch in Lagos, NUT National President, Comrade Audu Titus Amba, stated that a lack of funds has crippled the growth of education. He highlighted that budgetary allocations to the sector remain significantly below the internationally recommended benchmarks of 4 to 6 percent of GDP and 15 to 20 percent of public expenditure. Amba also strongly criticized the push for privatization, arguing it would create inequality and deny indigent children access to quality education.
Privatization Decried as Unjust
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, echoed these sentiments, describing the privatization of education as “a deliberate insidious agenda rooted in neoliberalism.”
Represented by his deputy, Adewale Adeyanju, Ajaero asserted that education is not a commodity to be bought and sold. “It is the very structure upon which we will build the economy of our nation,” he said, emphasizing its role in producing a skilled workforce, critical thinkers, and an empowered populace.
The Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, who was represented by the Principal of Kings College, Magaji Zachariah, also spoke at the event. He underscored the vital role of education in national development and acknowledged the need to prioritize it in the country’s budget. The campaign marks a unified front by key educational bodies to advocate for a more robust and equitable funding model for Nigeria’s educational system.
