Hope seems to be coming  alive again for the Nigerian  educational system with the federal government enthusiastically pledging to improve the sector. The latest assurance came in response to discredit against the system by Nigerians and particularly, members of the academia working in the universities. While the university lecturers are pressing for the implementation of 26 percent of the country’s annual budget for educational development among other agreements, many  Nigerians are beginning to see reasons with the struggle for the increased budgetary provision. For them, education should have been well developed in the country by now, if such consideration was adhered to.Comfort Ekpo, a professor of educational technology and vice-chancellor of University of Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, is not tired in his request for the institution’s take-off grant and other special intervention funds from the federal government. At the 17th and 18th convocation of the university held at permanent site, she appealed that the anomaly be addressed to give the institution the quality and the looks of a 21st century university to meet global standard.Also at the convocation, the deputy president of Nigeria’s Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, joined in advocating  for the need to meet UNESCO’s approved budgetary provision for education in any country. The argument of Ekweremadu was unwavering. He said: “If we cannot do more, let us at least begin by ensuring that education gets at least 25 percent of our national budget, being the benchmark set by UNESCO for nations willing to take educational development beyond the rhetoric.”For the deputy senate president, who bagged the honorary doctor of laws, LL.D (Honoris Causa), of the university, there is no doubt that Nigeria can afford free or at least a highly affordable quality tertiary education, provided the nation’s priorities are set right by checking corruption and wastages.Reasoning that both the public and the private sectors have a hand in the country’s educational development, he bemoaned the state of obsolete laboratories and other educational facilities in the country, especially in the universities, and advised that “the onus is on us to begin to invest our resources in quality education, for that is where our future lies.”Ekweremadu’s contention was basically to show that Nigeria should by now have a standardised and quality education that can provide practical answers to national challenges and make Nigerian graduates ready objects for national development. His position was shared by Muhammadu Abali Ibn Mahammadu Idrissa, the Emir of Fika and chancellor of the University of Uyo.The chancellor opined that with the increasing number of hopeful graduands in the educational system, quality curriculum should be set that would incorporate entrepreneurial skills to the one that addresses the changing needs and trends in the national development agenda.  According to him, this would promote the national transformation being pursued by the federal government.     In what looked like a response to these, the expectation for a developed educational system was proclaimed in the speech of President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by Raquyyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, a professor and minister of education.According to the president, the federal government is already on course to ensure that the country’s educational system improves as expected. He enthused: “Let me assure that our country’s educational system is being vigorously revamped with improved funding and crucial interventions.”The president  noted that education, which is the driving force for his transformation Agenda, is accepted all over the world as the key to development policies and plans, hence the reason for commitment to improve funding in the sector.During a routine visit to the Federal Technical College in Uyo, Rufa’i had stated government’s interest to improve facilities such as laboratories and other academic infrastructure needed for quality education. She decried the poor execution of jobs by contractors in government owned institutions, saying such forms part of the reason for low educational quality.The minister promised the prosecution of any contractor, who delays or turn-out substandard project in the education sector.

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