By Saheed Ibrahim

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Every state should have its personalised education policy that will drive development. Using an umbrella federal education policy for every state will not drive expected development, an education expert has suggested.

 Mr Segun Oladapo told The Hope that every state in Nigeria has its peculiar problems, which should inform their educational policies.

 His suggestion aligns with a former Minister of Education in Nigeria, Dauda Brimah, before his death.

 Brimah suggested that a single national education policy is ineffective in engendering development in Nigeria.

 The founder of Master Oladseg Education Initiative buttressed that Nigeria can borrow from the USA, where each state has its policies to drive development.

 “If we are talking about overhauling the education sector, we must be holistic. We must address the policies that drive our efforts to talk about development.

 “You cannot compare Ondo State with Yobe or Lagos State with Borno State.

 “Using the same education policies for each state will be effective in some but not others. This is because each has peculiar educational needs.

 “A primary school graduate in Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos may defeat a secondary school student in Borno due to long-standing insurgency in Borno State with many schools closed down.

 “We need to look into this. The federal government can lead, and each state will domesticate the policy to suit its specific problems. We can say the education sector needs to be restructured as well,” he explained.

  He also suggested that government should allocate adequate funding for the education sector and admonished stakeholders to support the government in ensuring development in the sector.