MSSN urges Lagos to make new education policy public before implementation

The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria has appealed to the Lagos State Government to make the reviewed policies in the state’s education policy public and available to stakeholders before implementation.

This, the organisation said, would aid a collective acceptance of the policy and prevent a similar crisis currently witnessed with the Land Use Charge.

The Amir (President) of the MSSN in Lagos State, Dr. Saheed Ashafa, said this after attending the Lagos State Stakeholders Engagement Forum on the review of the state’s policy on education.

The event, which held on Tuesday in Lagos, saw stakeholders being informed about the introduction of new education policies in the state.

Ashafa, who commended the move, said that it was important to give education stakeholders the opportunity to assess the policies before implementation.
He noted that implementing the policies without adequate input from stakeholders may not yield the desired result.

He said, “We commend Lagos State Government for bringing stakeholders together to consider the proposed new policies on education. The involvement of stakeholders is a step to success but we must avoid shortcut. We love the tall aspiration of Lagos state government for striving to meet up with the status of leading nations in the education sector like Finland, South Korea and Singapore.

“While we commend the state government for involving stakeholders in the validation of the document, we feel it is fundamental to share necessary documents with stakeholders for quality contribution and unquestionable acceptance.

“A situation where a ready-made policy is just being read to stakeholders without giving room for input or contributions may defeat the good notion of the state government to maintain a good relationship with stakeholders in the education sector.”

He, however, appealed to the Lagos State Government not to allow the implementation of the new policy disrupt the peace and relative progress being enjoyed in the state’s education sector.

“We advocate for all-inclusive implementation of the policy. One way to do this is to allow non-governmental organisations to participate in the monitoring of the policy to enhance objectivity in reporting,” he added.