On Tuesday, the Senate resumed proceedings and passed two education-related bills for second reading.
The bills were titled “A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration and other Matters Connected Therewith, 2024” and “A Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Manchok, Kaduna State and for other Matters Connected Therewith, 2024.”
The bills moved forward despite several senators’ remarks that creating new institutions now looked to contradict the Federal Government’s efforts to minimize the number of agencies and cost of governance.
Nigeria’s budget for 2024 is N28.7 trillion.
Out of the figure, N8.76tn is to be spent on the maintenance of public bureaucracy, better known as recurrent (Non-debt) expenditure, though the capital expenditure this time round is N9.99tn.
However, superior argument prevailed when the sponsors defended the relevance of the new institutions, specifically that they were meant to cater for the educational needs of Nigerians.
Senator Suleiman Sadiq (Kwara-North), who sponsored the bill on the National Institute for Educational Planning, said the institute already existed and had been providing key education planning services but had no legal backing.
“This is not about additional costs to the government. This institute is already there. “The bill is merely seeking for the necessary legal backing,” he added.
Senators also supported the bill for the University of Applied Sciences, Manchok, on the grounds that it would contribute to the growth of science education and industrialisation in the country.
Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, told his colleagues that though he raised concerns over the cost of governance, he would loudly back any initiative that sought to promote science education.
“This is about an institution of learning. We have to shift emphasis to science and do what the rest of the world is doing, which is scientific development. I support this bill wholeheartedly”, he added.
Deputy Senate President, Sen. Barau Jibrin, held the same views as Oshiomhole.
Jibrin stated, “We need to make sure that Nigeria becomes fully industrialised and modernised.
“To achieve this, we need to have science-inclined institutions. I support this bill, not for just the people of Manchok but also for the good of the whole of Nigeria.”
Tuesday’s plenary was presided over by the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, who referred the bills to the Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund