Amaechi seeks proper funding of education

PORT HARCOURT— Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has called for proper funding of education in the country.Speaking at the 18-20th convocation of the Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area of the state, he said that there was a drop in the quality of education in the country, stressing that urgent steps should be taken to address the situation.

Governor Amaechi who noted that some of the graduates coming out of the nation’s higher institutions were not fit, said “Our country, Nigeria must have the capacity to create the human capital needed for economic development. There are serious concerns that our higher institutions of learning at all levels are producing graduates not fit. In other words, our children are leaving school without the knowledge to sustain them or contribute to the development of the national economy.”

He said his government will continue to invest in education because of its value for the sector, stressing, “Early, in the life of this administration, we declared a state of emergency in the education sector to make Rivers State the hub of education, not only in Nigeria, but also in sub-Sahara Africa. Our commitment is to improve services and the quality of education and make it more relevant to productive activities, including value re-orientation, employment and wealth creation.

“We shall continue to pursue that dream vigorously and also confront the challenges bedeviling the education sector. Even as we strive to revitalize the sector, I am delighted to say that our efforts are bearing fruitful results. The naming of Port Harcourt as the World Book Capital 2014 earlier in the year and other achievements gave eloquent testimony of the recognition. It is an unprecedented achievement as we put Rivers State and Nigeria in the global map.”

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