Sen Magnus Abe on Sunday said that quality education was very expensive, and urged individuals, corporate bodies and religious institutions to provide scholarships to brilliant indigent scholars.
Abe, from Rivers, spoke at the dedication of Anglican International Academy, Abuja.
“Quality education, as we know, is not free; it is very expensive. The proper thing for us to do as a Church is to create avenues to help brilliant children who are less privileged.
“With scholarships, poor children can access quality education. We cannot talk of free education without talking about the quality of education. Affordable education is good, but its relevance diminishes if it is of poor quality.
“What we should concentrate on, when we talk about education, is the quality. Education, if it is not of the right quality, is of no use to both those who give it, or those who receive it. It creates more problems for society than it solves.
“We must support scholars who work hard and are deserving of support. It is that opportunity that is absent in this country and that is what we should provide, both in the Church, as individuals, and as corporate entities.
“If you go to other countries, there are students loans; people can access loan and go to school. Nigeria must make such opportunities available for its youths,” he added.
In his remark, Most Rev Nicholas Okoh, Anglican Primate of Nigeria, said that the Nigerian educational system needed serious discipline.
“Nigeria’s education system is dropping due to indiscipline and examination malpractices.
“If we compare Nigeria system of education to the British system, we will find that the British education system is still standing while ours is not. There is the need to restore the educational system and the first step is to instill discipline.
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‘“If government is serious about redeeming the quality of education, we must enforce discipline among teachers, students, lecturers at all levels,” he said.
