The Federal government has commended National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) for harnessing the gains of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Minister of State for Education, Hon Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba made the commendation Tuesday while declaring open, the first International Conference of Faculty of Education, NOUN.
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The Conference is to debate on the future of education in Africa, drawing attention to global guiding principles of SDG, specifically, SDG4 which established that by 2030, we will ensure equity and quality Education for all.
Speaking on the theme, “Revitalising Education For The Attainment of Sustainable Development Goals In Africa, the Minister said the conference was an opportunity for reviewing elements in the on-going reform initiatives of the SDGs with the African continent and indeed Nigeria.
“The management of NOUN has decided to look into the best ways to harness the gains of the SDGs, especially as it benefits education sector. This is remarkable. The Federal Ministry of Education is fully aware of the role of NOUN in human development. It is the largest single Mode Open Distance Learning Institution in West Africa and has established major development centers at all government levels in Nigeria.”
He expressed excitement that the Conference has taken a pragmatic approach to the SDGs, saying that the Ministry will continue to support the attainment of these goals. “I believe that, the future of this continent depends on the attainment of SDGs set before us, and in order to avoid the terrible consequences of the neglect of this our generation, dominated by the youth, all hands must be on deck toward the actualization of the SDGs before 2030.”
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The Keynote Speaker, Professor Naana Jane Okpoku-Agyemang, Chancellor of the Women’s University in Africa said for the SDGs to be successful at a global Scale, all participants in education needs to become advocates of sustainable development and play leading roles in their attainment.
She also called for a thorough review of the existing syllabus to ground education as the fulcrum of sustainable development while emphasising inter-discplinary and repositioning education onto it’s proper place a s think tank and problem solving centre with our communities.
On his part, the Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration, Professor Justus Sokefun stated that the revitalization of education for the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals, is a task before all Africans collectively and individually, so that we would join the other nations of the world to enjoy an optimal socio-economic cum politico-technological development by the year 2030.”
SOURCE:- http://leadership.ng/2019/09/24/fg-commends-noun-for-prioritizing-sdgs/
