N/Ass should ensure the establishment of a financial institution for the education and health sectors – Dr. Noma – New National Star

A retired Director of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) which currently owns Yagongwo College of Nursing Sciences (YCNS), Kuje, FCT, Dr. Adamu Jatau Noma is a basic education teacher with a Teachers’ Assessment 2, National Certificate of Education (NCE), Bachelor of Science in Education, Master of Science in Education and Doctor of Philosophy, also in Education.

In an interview with Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka in his office, he urges the National Assembly (N/Ass) to prepare legislation for the government to enable the establishment of an Education and Health Bank or similar financial institution where the owners will assess loans, with little or no interest in development education and health sectors. While he said that the government is making efforts in the education sector, but quickly added that the best will not be enough to meet the demands of the sectors.
Fragments.

Qtn: Being the owner here shows that you are retired and not tired. What is life like after retirement?
Answer: As a teacher and civil servant, for me life after retirement is not easy in Nigeria because after I retired as a principal, it took me about two years to value my pension. It is quite unfortunate that when I started receiving my pension, I could not buy a basket of tomatoes with it.

Question: Weren’t you paid severance pay before your retirement?
Answer: No! They met after two years. During this period I suffered because for the first month I didn’t get paid, I looked at the sky and I had to get used to two triangular meals a day instead of three. So, a typical Nigerian should learn to eat two triangular meals a day, not three; All you need is a good breakfast and a good lunch/dinner. You have to do this for about two weeks and then it will get the hang of you. Given the current state of affairs, the typical Nigerian should learn to adapt because it is not available.

Qtn: After retiring, you managed to establish a school of this size, with staff and students, something that rarely happens to retirees. What is magic?
Answer: Well, you can see that this is not an ordinary school that I should preside over. When I retired, I knew what to do, but the problem was getting the money. So we had to mobilize community leaders here and they gave me all their support; we sat down and came up with this idea. For funds, community leaders mobilized those who raised funds. We raised money from private individuals and banks and this is how this project was created.

Question: In Nigeria, among other things, private school fees are out of reach for the poor, and people like you can make the fees affordable. What efforts are being made to ensure that poor children can benefit from this and thrive like you?
Answer: Well, thank God we have about 80 paid employees here per month. By establishing this school and creating jobs, I think it is a help to: the government, society, Nigerians and Nigerians by ensuring that people not only work here for wages, but also that our children receive a quality education here. This is our own contribution to society and of course you know that we are training primary nurses and midwives here and when they graduate you will see our contribution to the development of the health workforce in Nigeria.

Qtn: As an educator to the core, are you able to assess the performance of the Nigerian government in this sector?
Answer: In my opinion, the government can try, but the government’s efforts are not enough because there are many shortcomings. I think most of the time we are talking about education without thinking, which is not good. We should spend enough money on education to make everything work.

The government should improve education services. Education funding is not sufficient; the government should increase them. Financing education is not easy, but at the same time it is if the funds are properly managed, used and focused on a specific process (?). If the government can do this, it will make a difference. It’s like introducing food and health care to children in school, which can only be done if it’s localized. If you want school children to be fed at school, you should outsource this locally. You know people are very selfish. If you outsource it to someone in Sokoto, Lagos or even Akwa Ibom for a school in Abuja, it won’t work.

Question: Senators were elected for good legislation. What area would you like to see them enter in the education sector?
Answer: Let the National Assembly come up with a law that will help those who want to establish hospitals and schools. Let them create legislation that will provide for the creation of either financial institutions or any means of easy estimation of funds to establish hospitals or schools with zero or little interest. For example, when we were building this place because it was an ongoing project, the banks that we approached, among them one of the established first generation banks, refused to give us a loan of only N10 million. The microfinance bank helped us and of course you know what a loan from a microfinance bank is. When the banks that refused to give us a loan came here, the question was, will you start paying? How do we get our money back? They dribbled us and they are our bankers.

Qtn: Do you have enough students for this gigantic building to be seen as a school?
Answer: Starting last year, we are growing and you have seen our students. We have dormitories for men and women, as well as for those who live outside the schools; those who come from near and far. So the number of students is increasing regularly.

Question: Education should be everyone’s business. In what area would you like to see a parent get involved?
Answer: Parents have already reported. It’s the government that’s not doing enough, because for example, primary school is a parent who gets up in the morning, feeds the child, bathes the child, dresses the child and sends him to school. I don’t think parents are not trying.

It is the government that should take action in this matter by providing a conducive environment for children, such as classrooms, desks, teachers, and instructional materials, among others. So, parents play their roles very well.

Qtn: What is your view on the impasse between organized labor and the government?
Answer: We strongly support the action of organized labor because no young man who has not yet married and is currently earning less than $150,000 a month can survive. You have to pay the rent, buy food, clothe yourself, get to work, take care of your siblings. It is not easy.

Qtn: Does that mean you are willing to pay whatever they agree on as the new wage?
Answer: No! This is a private institution and we are willing to pay people a reasonable amount that they can feel comfortable with, and we already do that. We pay people a reasonable amount of money here, which will make them happy so they can do their best. As our sources of income increase, their salaries will also increase. We will not continue what we started. We will continue to increase their salaries as the school progresses.