From AMEDU JOSEPH, Lokoja
The Director General of Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, Professor Ayo Omotayo has called for the rejig of the policy of 6:3:3:4 of our education sector to meet the present realities in order to move the nation forward.
The DG noted that the initial concept of the policy was to grow or have a blend of technical, vocational and technology education students with those with flair for academics in the society.
He lamented that poor funding has altered the policy, thereby stunting the educational progress of the country.
He said, although the policy is still running , it has deviated from the original concept as poor funding has affected its continued relevance, saying, government should either scrap it , or put measures in place to rejig the programme.
Professor Omotayo made the call at the 5th Distinguished Lecture Series with the theme” Policy Summersault: The bane of Development in the Public Sector ” organised by the Federal University Lokoja.
He stated that for the policy to be effective, all the governments in power should endeavour to codify policies into law as a means for the citizenry to hold government accountable for its breach.
He added that enacting policies without backing it by law was the major cause for policy abandonment and somersault, leading to loss of resources and people’s discontentment with government programmes.
The erudite professor explained that certain factors such as political consideration, geography , religion, funding and the issue of corruption should be taken into cognisance to avoid failure. He stressed that most policies are formulated without considering these variables, causing distortion and ineffectiveness of the policy.
Omotayo noted that inasmuch as the people at the grassroots and target audience of the policy are necessary to be consulted, lack of awareness and low intellectual capacity, have alway been the bane for consultation.
He identified lack of ideology by political parties and biases of leadership to issues and projects always fuelled policy failures, but stressed that policy somersault has both positive and negative impact on the society.
” Policy can somersault to correct a poorly formulated policy. Constantly, policy needs to be reviewed to measure its impact on the people and if it is discovered that it was not meeting the objectives and yearnings of the people, it should be either discontinued or modified”.
Professor Omotayo, however called on the people to elect those with capacity and capabilities to the position of authorities, disclosing that corruption in high places of the society is caused by mental laziness and greed.
He said the issue of corruption in Nigeria should not be a blame game as everyone is involved at every level and magnitude and called for social and spiritual rebirth.
He commended the management of the Federal University, Lokoja, for the distinguished lecture series which has brought together the gowns and towns and urged for a sustained effort in proffering solutions to societal challenges.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Olayemi Akinwunmi, said the topic of the lecture was carefully selected as the nation is faced with multiple policy failures that have dotted the length and breadth of the country with abandoned projects and programmes.
He charged everyone to contribute his or her quota to the development of the nation, saying the challenges facing the nation are surmountable and urged the students to develop mindsets that will transform the nation.
He commended the guest lecturer for the thought provoking scholarly treatment of the subject matter, assuring that the university will continue to keep the lecture.
