Ministerial Screening: Education is poorly funded – Prof. Adewole

As the screening of Ministerial nominees begins, the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume at plenary moved that the Senate resumes the screening of the nominees billed Tuesday’s screening as appeared in the Order Paper. This, he said was in accordance with Section 147(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

The first to be engaged was the foremost Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Adewole Isaac Folorunsho who, while responding to questions, disclosed that Nigeria educational system was poorly funded in the past. He said the development had affected the standard of education negatively. He however, described such as very unfortunate in all ramifications since education was next to nothing when you talk of development.

“Distinguished Senators, there is no doubt that in the past, education in Nigeria was poorly funded and that has affected the standard of education,” he noted.

He described the World Bank rating of Nigeria’s education system which has only 3 African countries behind it as not a true reflection of the system.

“Though the World Bank rating of Nigeria’s education that it has only 3 countries in Africa behind it and that is Sudan and two others is a an unfair rating, as it lacks the needed parameters,” he said.

Speaking on cancer, he disclosed that the ailment has been on the increase in the recent past, but regretted that there were no single cancer centres in Nigeria, save for few which are owned by private individuals, while stressing on the need for establishment of cancer centers across the federation.

“There is need for establishment of cancer centres and development of regulatory frame work that would harmonise and enhance operations of cancer treatment and handling in a professional manner”, he posited.

Adewole submitted that Nigeria spends a staggering amount of N3 billion annually.

“To confront these challenges, it is needful to have proper regulatory frame work of public and private hospitals so that they can offer global best practices in Medicare,”he said.

In response to Senator Samuel Anyanwu on challenges of brain drain in health sector , the nominee posited that medical doctors were driven by greener pastures after medical school, while opining that to halt this challenges, medical practice policy should be directed to good pay, manpower training and all forms of repatriation. 

He added that those going abroad for schooling in various fields including Medicine, don’t come back home, while explaining that as a University administrator, he would encourage the system to evolve solutions to poor funding of education and dilapidated infrastructures.

source Daily Post.