Ex-WAEC registrar laments rising out-of-school children
Former Registrar of the West African Examination Council, Dr Iyi Uwadiae, has expressed worry over the rising rate of out-of-school children.
Uwadiae, who expressed this worry during the 70th birthday dinner held in his honour by associates and friends in Lagos on Wednesday, stressed that parents must embrace the imperatives of going all out to ensure that their children/wards are educated.
He attributed the worrisome situation to a lack of funds by the parents to train their wards, and the unwillingness of some children to be educated.
Uwadiae charged both the parents and children to embrace education despite all odds.
He bemoaned that some parents were swayed by ills in the society and even encouraged their children/wards to subscribe to Yahoo to make quick money.
“If you say education is expensive, try ignorance. You will know that nothing kills like ignorance.
“I want to cite an example of a family in Benin, Edo State, that brought their child to Lagos to learn a trade. Midway into the skills acquisition, the parents recalled the child home when they saw what his age mates were engaged in Yahoo and were making money,” he said.
Describing education as pivotal to the nation’s advancement, he held that the government was not doing enough to promote education in the country.
To this end, he called on the Federal Government to give more attention to the growth and development of education in Nigeria.
“I am calling on the government of Nigeria to urgently prioritise educational growth and development in the country. The government should give it further impetus to arrest its dwindling fortune.
“There is no alternative to education; it is a necessity, it is the foundation for development. It helps citizens to navigate.
“But unfortunately, we are not doing enough, the government is not doing enough to promote education in the country,” he said.
The erstwhile WAEC boss, who emphasised the need for proper planning and funding for education, implored the government to key into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s recommendations on annual budgetary allocation for education.
“UNESCO recommends that nations allocate 15 to 20 per cent of their budgets to education, emphasising the importance of education as a global common good and human rights,” he added.
It would be recalled that Nigeria’s N3.52trn educational budget for 2025 represents only 7.3 per cent of the country’s total budget of N49.7trn.
Uwadiae lamented that politics has badly impacted education fortune.
“Sadly, a councillor is now better than a university professor, while a Yahoo Boy boasts of being capable of paying the salary of a lecturer,” he lamented.
Chairman of the occasion, Prof Adams Onuka, attested to the humility of Uwadiae, while a former Head of WAEC in Nigeria, Olutise Adenipekun, described him as a boss like no other.
