Nigeria: Poor Science, Tech Education, Bane of Country's Devt, Says Okonjo-Iweala
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Vanguard (Lagos)
6 August 2008
Posted to the web 6 August 2008
Inalegwu Shaibu
Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said yesterday that Nigeria was caught in a cyclic web of poverty, diseases and underdevelopment because of lack of emphasis in science and technology education.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, at a meeting to appoint the president of the African University of Science and Technology, (AUST), Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said the educational sector has failed to produce quality graduates with the requisite intellectual abilities to solve the problem of underdevelopment faced by the country.
She lamented the high rate of poverty and disease in the country and Africa, adding that government should start focusing more on science and technology education to encourage technological innovations.
She said, "Technology is the problem of Africa. If you look everywhere, countries that have managed to develop depended on innovations and applying the innovation to solve their problems. One of the things that have kept us in poverty in Africa is the lack of science and technology base. The lack of excellence in our work.
"It was innovation that led people to discover application for computer. It is innovation that has made South Korea an economic power in the world today.
We need technology to solve our energy problems, the high disease burden in the continent, improve agriculture to feed our people, as well water for the people. As I am speaking to you, 60 percent of countries in Africa do not have access to good water."
Commenting on the university, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala who is the out-going president of the board said AUST was set up as a pan African institution to bridge science and technological gap between Africa and the rest of the world.
She said the school has admitted 50 students with special abilities in science and technological from across Africa for diploma and masters programmes. About 50 percent of the students are from Nigeria.
She further stated that about N238 million has been set aside to run the school for the next two years. The money would be use for student upkeep, researches and welfare of various scientists drafted from the US, Asia and Europe to teach the students.
Dr. Frannie Leautier, a member of the board and former World Bank Vice-President emphasizing the need for technological development of Africa said only students that passed the diploma level would be admitted into the master programmes.
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She said because of the larger scope of the AUST, a total of 30 candidates applied for position of the president from Africa.
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