FG approves upgrade of physical standard of federal, state universities nationwide

The Federal Government said on Friday that it had approved the implementation of the recommendations of the investigative report on the need to upgrade the physical standard of all public universities in the country.
Vice President Namadi Sambo said this at the official presentation of the 2012 Federal Ministry of Education Annual Report, held at the National Universities Commission, Abuja.
Sambo said the recommendations had earlier been reviewed and endorsed by the National Economic Council.
Membership of the council include all the 36 state governors, ministers of finance, national planning, FCT as well as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Sambo expressed optimism that the implementation of the report would enhance the quality of university education in the country.
He said: “We must be in a position to produce graduates with the skills and competence to compete at the world stage.
“Some of us here will recall the investigative report and recommendations on the need to upgrade the physical standard of all public universities in the country both the Federal and State owned Universities.
“I am pleased to inform you that NEC has reviewed the report and only yesterday Mr. President granted approval for the implementation of the recommendations.”
Sambo noted the giant strides achieved by the Federal Government in enhancing qualitative education both at the basic and the tertiary level, and urged Nigerians to join hands with government in achieving the educational objectives as enshrined in the Transformation Agenda.
He said: “Our ability to meet our goals depends largely on patriotism to work together to build a better society for us and our children.
“Education is one of those areas that are so crucial that our attention must be continually focused on.
“This is because it is an avenue that we can use to change a lot of things socially, politically and economically.
“We must use the challenges of the past to provide solutions for the future.”
Sambo commended the Ministry of Education for diligently implementing the Four-Year Strategic Plan of the ministry as well as producing a quality report
He said: “These publications will definitely be of use to those who seek to find out more about the many activities going on in the sector and if necessary, apply them to their own work.”
In her remarks, the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai, highlighted the achievements of the ministry in 2012, saying the ministry was committed to transforming the Nigerian education sector.
Rufai said that the ministry would continue to embrace modern technology to improve teaching and learning in all level of education in the country.
She announced that the Federal Government had approved the construction of micro-teaching laboratories in all Federal Colleges of Education and one state College of Education per state.
She said: “This is being done at the cost of N200 million for each of the 58 institutions involved.
“This will enhance the process of repositioning our Colleges of Education to produce better teachers for Basic Education institutions.”
The minister, who acknowledged the support of International Development Partners toward repositioning of the nation’s education sector, said the Department for International Development had recently donated 250 million pounds sterling to boost educational activities in the country.
On the Annual Report, she said it contained publications that detailed some of the ministry’s efforts at transforming the Nigerian education sector.
Rufai said: “The annual report contains an insight into the strategic goals of Nigerian education and the activities involved towards achieving them.
“Summary of work of institutions at all levels of government are providing, including support from International Development Partners.
“It also provides some of the key performance indicators, the challenges facing the sector and some of the next steps needed to address these challenges.
“The material also provides brief description of each of our agencies.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Sambo unveiled and presented the 2012 Annual Report of the Federal Ministry of Education, Report of the First National Education Innovation Exhibition and the Report of the Third National Conference on Examinations.