The former deputy governor of the Central Financial Institution of Nigeria highlighted a significant decline in values in Nigeria, attributing it to neglect in the education sector. He emphasized the need for the education system to focus on skill development, moving beyond rote memorization to foster a versatile human capital. This shift is essential for individuals to create livelihoods, contribute to neighborhood wealth, and enhance national value chains, thereby supporting economic transformation and global competitiveness, especially in the context of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
To achieve this transformation, he suggested integrating technology into classrooms to improve teaching and learning experiences. This includes providing teachers with access to educational resources, interactive multimedia tools, and online platforms for collaborative learning. He advocated for classroom environments that encourage active participation, inquiry-based learning, and critical reflection. This can be achieved through cooperative learning structures, Socratic questioning methods, and experiential activities.
Implementing these strategies in primary and secondary schools would lead to pedagogical reform, improved teaching and learning outcomes, and a conducive environment for student success and academic excellence.
Additionally, he criticized the entitlement mentality prevalent among many Nigerians, pointing out the stark disparity in earnings between senators and vice-chancellors as an example. While senators earn about N13 million, vice-chancellors receive approximately N400,000 monthly, highlighting a significant imbalance.
At the same event, Folasade Ogunsola, vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, commended Arthur Mbanefo for his philanthropic efforts in advancing education. She celebrated his support for the Arthur Mbanefo Digital Research Centre (AMDRC), which showcases his commitment to educational development, coinciding with his 94th birthday celebration.
“The AMDRC Centre which commenced full operations in 2018 was to function as a digital analysis Hub the place college students and related stakeholders may have entry to digital resource studying to advance analysis and post-graduate research.
This was forward of its time as the College of Lagos is, without doubt, one of the most digitized colleges. Equally, the College of Lagos has been within the forefront of Synthetic Intelligence and digital studying,” she mentioned.
“We now have over 23 analysis centers and 4 innovation and know-how Hubs. Via our NITHub, now we have efficiently hosted Worldwide Conferences on Synthetic Intelligence and Robotics (ICAIR) with individuals unfold throughout 14 nations in Africa, Asia, the UK, USA and Canada,” she added.
Arthur Mbanefo, the celebrant in his speech decried the wage disparity between vice-chancellors of universities and senators which he mentioned depicts a lack of reward values in the nation’s governance system.
“Our priorities are completely misplaced, and till we realize that if we don’t tackle the misplaced values on training, folks will proceed to Japa,” he mentioned.
He mentioned that it’s regrettable that in lots of Nigerian public universities, the allocations for analysis are less than 15 percent of your entire establishment’s total price range.
Among the dignitaries at the lecture were Tolulope Adewale, managing director of NSIA Superior Medical Providers, and chairman of the event; Ernest Ebi, chairman of AMRDC; Bode Karunwi, member of AMRDC, Taiwo Ipaye, director of AMRDC; Ayodele Atsemuwo, deputy vice-chancellor improvement companies at UNILAG, Yetunde Zaid, UNILAG’s Librarian; and Bolanle Shoga, board secretary, amongst others.
