LAGOS HOLDS STAKEHOLDERS’ FORUM ON MASS LITERACY
Given the need to maintain its leadership status in the adult literacy programme in the country, the Lagos State Government on Tuesday organised a One-Day Stakeholders’ forum on mass literacy in the state.
The Programme was organised by the Ministry of Tertiary Education in collaboration with the Lagos Mass Literacy Education at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development T-Block Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
Declaring the forum open, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hon. Tolani Sule Akibu stated that there is no society without an educational gap, hence the need for the government of the day to take the bull by the horn and confront it head-on to bridge the gap and ensure that citizens are lettered without leaving anyone behind and equally cover the length and breadth of the state.
“Let it be known that there is no society in the whole world without an educational gap but a forum like this is very important, where different educational scholars are gathered to brainstorm and proffer ways of bridging such gaps.
“We can see that when citizens are literate, understanding each other would be easier and even create opportunities for living harmoniously without any friction. This would in the long run enable participants to share many opportunities”, Akibu said.
He further stated that when citizens are not literate, it would rob them of many opportunities to sustain decent living and expressions, just as he enjoined participants at the forum to come up with fresh and new ideas and desist from the hitherto former ways of doing things.
“Let everyone come up with fresh and new ideas to further develop the mass literacy programme to encourage other rural dwellers and riverine areas in the state to key into the mass advocacy programme”, the Commissioner said.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Director, Lagos Agency for Mass Education, Mrs. Oluwakemi Kalesanwo maintained that the Y2023 stakeholders’ forum is in tandem with the theme of the World Literacy Day, which seeks an end to non-literacy of all citizens.
Kalesanwo thereby enjoined participants to listen and contribute positively as well as brainstorm on ways to surmount the challenges and create ways and manners to move literacy forward.
In his goodwill message, an educationist, Dr. Hussein Lukman, from the Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), noted that education is paramount, which according to him goes beyond teaching.
He said, “We should start teaching morals by going beyond the classrooms”.