IREN is improving education quality – Academic, Bala

Engr. Abubakar Bala, 29, a first class graduate of engineering from Bayero University, Kano (BUK) is one of the founders of the Initiative for Revival of Education in Nigeria (IREN). The Kano born academic who is pursuing his PhD in Malaysia, spoke about IREN and its visions for Nigeria’s education sector. irenonline.org/blog/

How can IREN make the required impact in Nigeria?

We believe that efforts such as that of IREN can be a driving force in fixing the problems affecting our institutions of learning and help restore us into our rightful place in the world. We are also pushing for the constant revision of curriculum by tertiary institutions. We have recommended infrastructure development especially the student hostels, which unfortunately looks like overcrowded prisons. Moreover, we also recommended that the accreditation team of the NUC should involve some external/foreign panel members and should be carried out as unannounced visits. We believe that if NGOs such as IREN speak loudly enough and also use its resources to make some impacts, Nigeria will be a better place for us all.

Is there any sort of assistance you’ll need to succeed?

Most of IREN’s activities have been sponsored from the pockets of its members. IREN’s activities would be greatly improved and make more impact if we get sponsorship from governments and other NGOs alike.

Where do you see IREN in the years to come?

In the future we see IREN becoming one of the main policy advisers to governments within the country. We wish to have a chair at the NUC and also committees of education at the upper and lower chambers in order to give needed inputs. With enhanced funding, we also envisage that IREN would be able to assist in infrastructural development in schools and organize more inter-school debates.

There’s still a gap between school enrolment in Northern Nigeria and its southern counterpart, how can this be bridged?

Many have attributed this gap to our failure to accept the secular/western education early. Because it was mainly promoted by Christian missionaries and Islam was and is still predominant in the North. Yes, this is partly responsible. However, free education and free school meals would only temporarily improve enrolment. We need to look beyond that. We need to create a social orientation. The governments should organize yearly essay/spelling bee competitions and reward winners handsomely.