"An Uneducated Person Is Dangerous In A Society" — Usman

Nigeria's government has been urged to invest more on education to eradicate illiteracy because uneducated persons are "dangerous", says the National President of Bayero University Kano (BUK) Alumni Association, Alhaji Muhammad Dattijo Usman.

Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust, Usman said it the government's duty to ensure that education reaches all its citizens.

"Government must gear up and ensure that all citizens are educated because an uneducated person is dangerous in a society.

"It is good to spend money in other sectors but we must pay serious attention to education because it’s the backbone of every development," he said.

Usman added that the government must increase funding for the education sector, calling for the allocation of 26% of the annual budget to the sector.

"If we want quality education we must spend money.

"I believe funding has to be improved upon and I also believe that those who attend higher education should be made to pay something for the development of education in the country.

He however added that the proper management of already disbursed funds is also important if education is to be repositioned in the country.

"Although government has not yet attained the 26 per cent as recommended by the UNESCO but if the little fund invested in the sector is adequately utilised, I believe we will develop," Usman said.

On free education, Usman said government should limit the initiative to primary and secondary levels.

"And to me only primary and secondary education should be made free and compulsory for government to provide but tertiary education should not be free.

"The idea of making university education free does not even arise because if your parents want you to become somebody in future they should pay for that."

He called the recent mass failure in the WAEC Examination a "disaster" which shows that something is going wrong.”