They explain in reference to the role of government to facilitate the provision of formal education to citizens of the West African nation, “The state, consistent with the principle of subsidiarity, is to fulfil this role, not by overbearing interventions in the education sector, but by providing an enabling environment for synergy for the family, voluntary agencies like the church, and other religious communities, and the corporate world in the task of ensuring that the average Nigerian gains access to good and quality education.”
The Catholic Diocesan Priests in Nigeria who met from October 25-29 at St. Leo's Catholic Church, Ikeja in Lagos Archdiocese went on to challenge the government to ensure that the welfare of teachers is guaranteed including being “meaningfully remunerated.”
“Educationists in schools must be well equipped with sufficiently qualified and meaningfully remunerated teachers for the task of forming the students,” NCDPA members have been quoted as saying in the October news reported authored by Joseph Ishu.
The Catholic Diocesan Priests further “advocate that students have their preferred choices of subjects.”
They also urge parents whom they describe as the “first and primary educators” to “live up to their responsibility in the formation of their children.”
During their meeting that was organized under the theme, “The Foundational and Holistic Reorientation of the Nigerian Person: An Urgent Imperative for the Church and State,” NCDPA members deliberated on how Nigerians are perceived.
“Although there are many reasons for great admiration of the Nigerian character or person, there are, however, ample reasons to be apprehensive about the Nigerian person,” the Catholic Priests remarked.
They explained, “Being a Nigerian today comes with a high cost which includes distrust, suspicion and rejection in many quarters occasioned by the prevalence of high-powered corruption, religionized nepotism, uninhibited banditry, police brutality, loss of hope in the Nigerian dream, and so on. These are causes of grave worries.”
Meanwhile, the Catholic Diocesan Priests in Nigeria resolved to continue with their ministry of proclaiming the Word of God preceded by preparation.
“Without equivocation, we resolve that we will intensify our passion for transforming lives through the Gospel, by feeding God’s people with well-prepared homilies and catechetical instructions,” they say in their collective statement signed by NCDPA National President and Secretary, Fr. Sylvester Onmoke and Fr. Francis Ikhianosime, respectively.
