FG Accused of Paying Lip Service To Education Funding As SAF Poly Matriculates Pioneer Students

Kadiri, a fellow of Nigeria Institute of Town Planners and Past President of the Institute, bemoaned the paltry allocation of fund to education in the 2019 budget and called for urgent stakeholders’ support for the sector as he said their might be loss of confidence in the education system in Nigeria if steps are not taken.

*Alh Waheed Kadiri, flanked by the left by Dr Bolanle Wahab, a member of the SAF Poly Governing Council

Alhaji Waheed Kadiri, who is the Chairman Governing Council of SAF Polytechnic, Iseyin disclosed this while responding to questions from journalists at the maiden Matriculation program of SAF Polytechnic which held at the institution’s main auditorium on Friday.

*Cross section of the pioneer students of SAF Polytechnic taking their oath during the matriculation ceremony

He said “go and check the 2019 budget and see what they allocated to education. You will see that this government is not serious with it and it is just a signal to parents and guardians that studying abroad is the best bet, a stand that I hate to accept.

“Quality of education in Nigeria is still better and all we need in this area is adequate funding to booster facilities, research, teacher’s emoluments and other critical areas of need in our universities, polytechnic, colleges of education and the lower categories.

“The vote for education in the budget is not up to 20% and they think they have done well for education. I fear for the future. People might lose respect for our education soon.”

He described those taking their children abroad for study as unscrupulous Nigerians with ill-gotten wealth which they desire to flaunt at will, to show that they have arrived, stating that performance rate of higher institutions in Nigeria was still above average.

Alh Kadiri called on parents to look at facilities and number of academic staff available at any institution of higher learning before taking their wards there, adding that SAF Polytechnic had gone through the teething period and was ready to provide quality academic performance that would make their students the pride of Nigeria.

“I still will not look favorably at an idea of sending children abroad to get good education. It is not a good excuse. We still have the best here. Look at our graduates that travel abroad and see how they dust them there. It shows that we still have good quality here.

“Those parents are the ones with stolen money and the would want to play class as they will be asking each other ‘where is your child schooling? Mine is abroad,’ in order to flaunt the ill-gotten wealth.

“SAF will give other Polytechnics a run for their money. We have quality facilities here. Our lecturers are rearing to unleash their knowledge on the students and I promise you, soon graduates of this institution will make Nigeria proud.”

SAF Polytechnic matriculated twenty-one students on Friday under the Faculty of Engineering, Environmental Studies, Sciences and Faculty of Financial Management.

The Rector, Dr Azeez Ganiyu called on the pioneer students to be good ambassadors of their various families and make the Polytechnic proud in all their academic and non academic activities.