Senator representing Bayelsa East Senatorial district at the National Assembly Ben Murray-Bruce has called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on Nigeria’s educational sector.
Murray-Bruce said this in reaction to a recent statement by the National Programme Advisor on Education for The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Dr. Mohammed Alkali who said that about 65 million Nigerians are still illiterate, during an advocacy visit to Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Kastina State.
“We have no choice but to declare an emergency in our education sector,” said Murray-Bruce in a series of tweets on Friday. “We must reduce the number of our illiterate population as a priority.
“We can’t continue spending 70% of our budget on recurrent expenditure & only 2% on education or illiteracy in Nigeria will continue rising.
“The Nigerian people must take ownership of the change they want to see in our nation by being more interested in the budgeting process.”
“Students, market women, activists and the public must must get involved. Nigeria is our only country. We have no other to call our own,” the businessman turned politician wrote.
Alkali had said while in Katsina that “just nine months of literacy increases a person’s earning by up to 10 percent.”
first one lol