By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Two organisations with the shared values of promoting governance and socio-economic development of Nigeria, Reignite Public Affairs and BusinessDay Media, have come together to hold a national dialogue series.
The dialogue, christened Reignite Public Affairs National Dialogue Series (RPA NDS), is a knowledge-based policy dialogue series for collating refined submissions of thought leaders and stakeholders in order to promote dialogue on critical national issues, cause aggregation of expert’s positions on national issues, influence policy formulation and implementation and ultimately determine a critical path for national development.
A statement from the organisers disclosed that the inaugural edition of the series themed Education: Navigating A New Normal, is slated for Tuesday, July 7, 2020, via Zoom link channel http://bit.ly/rpaeducation at 2:00pm (WAT).
It was stated that the webinar will feature the Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, as keynote speaker, with some federal lawmakers and other key stakeholders on the panel of discussion.
The programme will be moderated by an education policy expert specialising in public-private partnerships in education, Mrs Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, who is also the Managing Director of The Education Partnership Centre (TEP Centre) and Programme Director of the LEARNigeria Citizen-Led Assessment and Advocacy Programme.
Key issues to be discussed during the webinar include the national education policy, developing and retaining talents, investments in education infrastructure, and opportunities in the education system, the dynamics between public schools and private schools, funding imperatives, technology and legislative framework. It will afford policymakers and stakeholders the opportunity for critical feedback.
Commenting on the event, Franklyn Ginger-Eke, Executive Director/COO Reignite Public Affairs, said as Nigeria marches towards her 60th Independence anniversary, there is a critical need to review her progress in key sectors such as education, health, agriculture, economy, security, infrastructure and governance that have the extreme potential to catalyse national development. This becomes even more strident in the post-COVID-19 era which demands a fresh approach to old challenges.
Speaking on the partnership with BusinessDay, Mr Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, Group Managing Director of CMC Connect (Perception Managers), said the COVID-19 pandemic, unarguably a major global health crisis, has further exposed the crisis within Nigeria’s education sector even as governments and educational institutions including stakeholders struggle to adjust to a new normal in the face of uncertainties.
