In 2022, the federal government allocated N1.18 trillion (7.2 percent of the budget) to the education sector, up from 5.68 percent in 2021. This was described by many as a welcome development.
However, the excitement that greeted the increased allocation did last long as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) announced a 30-day warning strike on February 14, 2022, which eventually lasted for eight months.
As if that was not enough, insecurity also took a toll on education. As Nigeria’s security situation worsened, some schools were forced to shut down in Abuja and Nasarawa over the threat of attack by terrorists.
Similarly, there was the sad news of the murder of Happiness Odeh, a National Diploma II student of the Mass Communication Department of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta in Ogun State by suspected kidnappers.
Niger State discovered in September that 20 percent of primary school teachers in the state were unqualified. In its quest to flush out charlatans in the state’s primary education board, the state technical committee on teachers’ headcount revealed that out of the 24,061 primary school teachers across the state, 4,703 were unqualified.
It was reported that Bauchi, Katsina, and Kano states had the highest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Bauchi, with 1,239,759 out-of-school children, led the pack; Katsina came second with 873,633, while Kano had 837,479 out-of-school children.
Teachers in 20 states of the federal were reported to be in misery over the state’s refusal to pay the N30,000 minimum wage. The states included Abia, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Gombe, Niger, Borno, Sokoto, Anambra, Imo, Benue, Taraba, Rivers, and Zamfara.
The Nigeria Union of Teachers kicked against the Kaduna State’s competency test in which 2,357 teachers were sacked, describing it as mischievous.
This came just as the National Universities Commission (NUC) moved to stop ‘fake professors’ in Nigerian universities. The NUC began a process to curb the epidemic of fake professors in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions by directing university vice-chancellors to compile a list of full professors in their various institutions.
Also in the news was the hard times caused by the petrol scarcity and diesel hike that hit schools. Many parents and schools in Lagos State were faced with difficult times.
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) increased the Senior School Certificate Examination fee by about 30 percent. With the increase, students were asked to pay N18,000 as against the previous fee of N13,950.
However, the year also witnessed positive and encouraging developments. Joseph Agbakoba, a pioneer researcher and teacher in the field of development philosophy and ethics for Africa from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was announced the recipient of the 2022 Georg Forster Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany.
WAEC launched its digital certificate platform in Nigeria. Patrick Areghan, the head of the national office at WAEC, Nigeria, said it was in the council’s commitment to encouraging academic and moral excellence, among others, that it deemed it necessary to migrate from physical registration of candidates to online registration, online verification of results and online result print.
The Lagos State government partnered with Code4TEEN Labs to integrate coding into primary schools’ curricula.
Many Nigerians were delighted to hear that the United States Agency for International Development has launched the Leveraging Education Assistance Resources in Nigeria to read activity, to improve early-grade reading in the country over the next five years.
This $48.8 million US Mission in Nigeria investment in education will provide a better future to millions of Nigerian children, and help lead to thriving, prosperous communities throughout Nigeria.
Then, the news of Kimberly-Clark boosting girl-child education with 30 scholarships made the headlines. The organisation gave scholarships to 30 girls in its efforts to promote girl-child education in the country.
Read also: What to know about WAEC’s digital certificate platform
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) graduated its first batch of entrepreneurs in 2022 at the institute’s new centre. Comfort Olu-Eyitayo, the 57th president of ICAN, said the centre was an outcome of the passion of the institute to tackle unemployment and underemployment, especially among its members and the public.
Delta State was also in the news for the good as Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor, approved payment of N400 million to 40 mission schools. The governor approved the payment of the grant to enable the schools to upgrade and expand their facilities.
The Financial Times gladdened the hearts of many Nigerians by announcing the Lagos Business School as one of the top global business schools in its Executive Education 2022 ranking.
Bayelsa State government understudied Ghana’s student loan scheme. Delegates from Bayelsa State higher education student loan board visited Ghana for a five-day tour to understudy the country’s Student’s Loan Scheme.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
