Education critical to Nigeria’s progress, development – Reps Speaker

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has said that education is critical to the development and progress of Nigeria.

Mr Tajudeen disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during the matriculation ceremony of new students into the academic programmes offered by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies(NILDS) in partnership with the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Edo State.

While the post-graduate programmes of the institute are offered in conjunction with UNIBEN, the HND programmes are provided solely by the institute.

According to the speaker, other countries have advanced their educational systems and continue to explore opportunities in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to optimise human capital development.

To key into this emerging development, Mr Tajudeen said the 10th National Assembly would strive to provide a legal framework for regulating the adoption of AI in Nigeria to ensure an optimal mix of labour-capital ratio in the nation’s development process.

The speaker called on the NILDS to look into the possibilities of providing research-based intellectual support to facilitate the actualisation of this very important modern process.

While commending NILDS and its partner -UNIBEN – and the National Board for Technical Education(NBTE) for accrediting the HND programmes of the institute, the speaker called on the matriculating students to take their studies seriously.

“I want to implore you to give the required attention to your studies, as the curriculum is designed to enhance your capacity in critical subject areas that form the nucleus of the role of the legislature and other democratic institutions in nation-building,” Mr Tajudeen told the matriculants.

The speaker said that whatever additional qualifications the students will earn from the institute will not only enhance their competence in legislative matters but also expand their opportunities towards acquiring higher qualifications and positions in other spheres of democratic governance and national development.

Speaking earlier in his welcome address, the Director General of the institute, Abubakar Sulaiman, said the matriculation ceremony into the 2023/2024 academic session was unique in so many ways, especially as the enrollment witnessed a higher number of intakes -180- compared to the 107 it admitted previously.

Mr Sulaiman said the higher enrollment is a testament to “the increased quality of our academic programmes at NILDS, which would not have been possible without the commitment of the leadership of the National Assembly, the University of Benin, our lecturers, and the support from the executive through the Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission and the National Board for Technical Education.”

According to Mr Sulaiman, a professor, the institute recorded the enrolment of foreign students into our postgraduate programmes, noting that a Master’s’s Degree in Constitutional Law and Development has also just been added to the programmes offered by the institute.

“We now have on our list of programmes: Master in Legislative Studies, Master in Elections and Party Politics; Master in Law(LLM), Legislative Drafting, Master in Parliamentary Administration;, and the Post Graduate Diploma in Elections and Political Party Management.

“Lastly, the gender mix of the students admitted this year is higher than in previous years,” the DG said.

Mr Sulaiman noted that the HND and postgraduate programmes of the institute were established on strong academic principles and discipline.

Upon completing the programme, students are awarded certificates by the University of Benin for postgraduate programmes, while the institute awards the HND certificates. The best students will be recognised and offered prize awards.