The Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellows Alumni Association, Nigeria (COSFAN) has called on government of the Commonwealth states to develop the political will to increase their budgetary allocation to education especially at tertiary level.
The COSFAN observed that budgetary allocation for education was low in some third world countries and this affected the education sector adversely.
The COSFAN also recommended the need for more and wider coverage of advocacy enlightenment programmes for better participation of women in governance.
It hinted further that the participation of women in governance was low especially in the 2019 general elections in Nigeria.
These are parts of the communique issued at the end of the 2019 Commonwealth Day Celebrations of the COSFAN held at the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria on Monday 11, 2019
The communique which was jointly signed by COSFAN National President, Dr Biola Ruth Adimula, Chairman Communique Committee, Dr Raymond Ogunade and Chairperson Plan, Dr Azizat Amoloye Adebayo, also called on the Commonwealth Commission to intensify more efforts in crisis torn areas.
The COSFAN also observed that the Commomwealth Commission seems to develop cold feet in crises torn areas, especially the 3rd World countries;
The Association also recommended the Commonwealth Commission to pull resources together for equitable distribution of education, particularly the girl-child training, observed that significant numbers of out-of-school children are not being catered for in terms of quality education.
It also appealed to member states to, as a matter of priority, direct their searchlights to Ineternally Displaced Persons in terms of government attention, pointed out that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps seem to be neglected.
It also recommended that the Commission should organize more workshops and seminars to educate Postgraduate Students on how to evolve winning proposals.
“With the established collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education where COSFAN will work in partnership with five (5) of its Departments toward enhancement, a call is hereby made to other relevant bodies in Nigeria to explore partnership opportunities with COSFAN in the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
“The Association further recommend that, at least a member of COSFAN should be on the Commonwealth Board for scholarship Screenings and also that the Association should be granted seat as a nominating agency for scholarship awards;
“The challenges of divided loyalty, conflicts, weak enforcement mechanism, cultural and demographic issues; asymmetric financial capacity must be deliberately addressed for holistic impacts;
“There should be a constant reminder at any given opportunity that we all should be active members of the Commonwealth” the Communique read in part.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin Professor Sulyman Abdulkareem (middle), the COSFAN President Dr Adimula (2nd left), Dr Azizat (2nd right) and others during COSFAN visit to the Vice Chancellor.
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