The Chronicle of Education (TCE) is today generally acknowledged as the foremost and most robust education newspaper on the African continent. Its focus is education at all levels on the continent and the deployment of education for national and global development.
In 2018, TCE had multiple opportunities for exclusive interviews with iconic education experts and administrators on the continent and in the Diaspora. For the benefit of some of our readers who may have missed the highly informative interviews, they are highlighted below with links to their full texts. TCE will conduct many more interviews and steadfastly report education matters throughout 2019.
Kaduna State is determined to place the training of girls at the centre of its education programmes. To achieve this, Jafaru Sani, the State’s Commissioner of Education, explained in an exclusive interview with TCE how Kaduna State is addressing barriers to the development of the girl-child caused by poverty, certain practices rooted in culture and religion, such as early marriages, stereotyping based on the patrilineal structure of most Nigerian societies, poor infrastructure and violence.
The fundamental issue of the fitness of many Nigerian graduates for purpose, especially employment, was addressed in an interview with Professor Olufemi Bamiro, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan and the immediate past Pro-Chancellor & Chairman of Council of the Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State. He explained how Nigerian universities can align their curricula with the highly dynamic requirements of the world of work.
The Zambian Minister of General Education, David Mabumba, was a guest of TCE in its interview series. He described the current state of education in Zambia and outlined some innovations that will be introduced during his tenure. He explained that the innovations are necessary because the future success of the African continent lies to a large degree in its ability to provide quality education to its ever-growing youth population.
The funding of Nigerian public universities was a topic addressed in an exclusive interview by the immediate past Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Professor Suleiman Silas Bogoro. He was of the opinion that budgetary allocation by governments to education in the last 10 years has been miserly. He then advocated the allocation of 15-20% of the national budget to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Nigeria.
Professor Toyin Falola, a renowned Nigeria historian and a professor of African Studies who is currently in the Diaspora, addressed the issue of national identity in an exclusive interview with TCE. According to the iconic scholar, “I am very much embarrassed when I see African youths that cannot speak their indigenous languages. That is parental failure. What the parent forgets is that children can learn up to seven languages proficiently and that the fact that you want your child to know English does not mean that child should not know his or her native language.”
The first and oldest university in Nigeria, the University of Ibadan, has produced a total of 232,000 graduates. Established 70 years ago in 1948, the institution is fondly referred to as the mother of all universities in Nigeria. The school has over the years been a veritable training ground for thousands of professionals who run other institutions and various sectors of the Nigerian state. In an exclusive interview with TCE, Professor Abel idowu Olayinka, the current Vice Chancellor of the University highlighted some of the landmark achievements of the institution since its foundation.
Professor Abayomi Arigbabu was recently appointed the 4th Vice Chancellor of the Tai Solarin University of Education. In an exclusive interview with TCE, the distinguished scholar described his vision and proposed innovations in the University during his five-year tenure.
The TETFund Act 2011 precludes private tertiary education institutions from accessing funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. In an exclusive interview with TCE, the incumbent Vice Chancellor, Professor Peace Babalola, of Chrisland University, Abeokuta, argued for the inclusion of private universities among institutions that are eligible for TETFund support.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom. In an exclusive interview with TCE, the Regional Director of UNESCO, Mr Yao Ydo, spoke extensively on the activities of the agency in the eight ECOWAS countries: Benin, Côte D’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo and Nigeria.
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