Osimiri, who is a lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Lagos, made this known in a public lecture delivered at the grand finale of the 40th anniversary of Humani Alaga High School in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
A university lecturer, Dr Peter Osimiri, has said that the currently devastating state of Nigerian education will not improve until the Federal Government take investments in education as capital expenditure.
Osimiri, who is a lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Lagos, made this known in a public lecture delivered at the grand finale of the 40th anniversary of Humani Alaga High School in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The don, while speaking on the theme, “Falling Standard of Education in Nigeria: Who is to blame” berated the depressing share of the national budget given to the education sector.
He lamented that the degrading features of deplorable school facilities, poor funding of researches and ill-equipped educators bedevilled the academic sector at all levels in the country.
Osimiri said, “The Nigerian government at all levels has not taken education to be a top priority. Regrettably, our politicians keep feeding education with crumbs from the national budget. This cannot help us. This cannot help the country. If this persists, the standard of education will keep falling.
“Without education, the economy will be deteriorating. Education evokes thinking, which in turn drives the economy with innovations. Until we see education as capital expenditure, we are going nowhere.”
Also present at the occasion was the Local Inspector of Education of the Ibadan North Local Government, Mrs Foluke Ogunsiji.
In her speech, Mrs Ogunsiji commended the old students’ association of the school for their kind and courageous gestures towards revamping the school. She also assured that the Oyo State Government under Governor Seyi Makinde would ensure the proper funding of education.