The supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, has said that a robust education system was a key to achieving a holistic national development.
Wike made the disclosure during the opening ceremony of a four-day capacity building workshop for primary school teachers in the South East held in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State on Monday.
The workshop was put together by the National Action Committee on Read Campaign in conjunction with the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals, MDG’s.
The minister, who was represented by a director in the Federal Scholarship Board, Ifeoma Agunwa, lamented the declining standard of education at all levels of the education sector.
While noting that the workshop was one of several approaches by the federal government to address the falling standard of education, Wike stressed that no meaningful development could be achieved under the present level of education, saying that a robust education system remained the fulcrum that drives genuine political and socio-economic development.
“For us to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, special focus must be given to education. It is of utmost importance because it develops the mind. Understanding the written word and expanding one’s vocabulary are ways the mind grows in its ability. A person is limited in what he can accomplish without good reading and comprehension skills,’’ Wike said.
The minister, who described teachers as critical factors in the Read Campaign, charged participants at the workshop to pay attention to maximize the benefits of the programme.
“Whatever you learn at this workshop, you will replicate at your various states and schools, therefore, I urge you to pay serious attention to all the discourse,’’ he added.
Wike commended the National Action Committee on Read Campaign and the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs for organizing the workshop.
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