OPINION – 'CAN Should Do Its Research' – Dr Amiel Fagbulu

Staff October 10, 2013

It is regrettable that a respected body like CAN can display so much ignorance in respect of education in Nigeria. To start with, the State of Osun like the rest of Nigeria cannot discriminate in the provision of educational facilities on the basis of gender or religion. Secondly CAN is operating from a false premise that some schools are Christian schools.
All public schools belong to all the people irrespective of their religious beliefs. If we Christians want to have schools over which we will have full control, the constitution provides for that.
Finally the history of the take-over of schools credited to Gowon is also false. The take-over of schools was a direct consequence of the Asabia Commission and I was the originator of the idea with my colleagues who served after me as advisers to that body. A main reason for that action was that the proprietors who received grants from government and fleeced parents through high fees made education very expensive. In spite of not investing their own money in education they failed to pay teachers on time if at all; they tyrannized teachers; they even went as far as not promoting teachers on merit especially if those teachers belonged to other denominations.
CAN should please do its research and acknowledge that Adefarasin emancipated teachers and Asabia, its sub-committee recommended the procedures for achieving that end, If CAN needs being educated on this issue, I will oblige. In the meantime it should stop spreading falsehood.
Aregbesola may or may not be guilty of wanting to Islamize Osun; that is not my concern here. Accusing him of using education is however not true.
Comments by Dr Amiel Fagbulu who retired as head of EMIS (Education Management Systems) from the Federal Ministry of Education and was retained as Consultant both by Federal Government & the UNESCO on Education Management Systems