By Atureta Adeiza

The President of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, Dr. Margee Ensign, has said technology was the key to solving the problem facing the nation’s education system.
Dr. Ensign made this known at the weekend during a courtesy visit to Peoples Daily in Abuja.
Speaking during the visit, the AUN president said in view of the increase in population in both rural and urban areas, it was impractical to sustain quality in the system without adopting technology.
“Your country is one of the fastest growing in the world; your population growth rate for rural is about 3% and urban, 1.9%. That means you’re doubling every 28-32 years.
“It becomes impossible to keep up with that and ensure quality unless we use technology. There’s no other way we can get education right in this country”.
She said a new programme, social entrepreneurship, which focused on solving society’s problems, could be further applied to address issues like illiteracy in the country.
“It is spreading throughout the US, in Asia, Latin America. This young generation knows that we are leaving them with many problems; from the climate change department to poverty, to poor health to illiteracy. Social entrepreneurship is particularly appropriate for a place like Nigeria.”
In her assessment of education in the country, Dr. Ensign said “it is not about building, but funding the best faculties who can deal with large numbers of students using technology”
“Schools should get the best people who know how to teach seasoned technology, because you can’t compete without all of these tools.”
“Here’s the way people learn the best and the technological part is if you do it well”, she said.
Dr. Ensign further called for an improved health system, adding that access to free and equitable education should be of priority in view of the abundant resources.
“When people are healthy, they can learn and stay productive. That should be the foundation. Nigeria is a rich country; it is all about how you use your resources.
“It is about the political will and resources”, she added